Just Some Memories Of
by born on the day of earthquakes
Summary: Okumura Rin, a curious young demon. He messes in Mephisto Pheles's office and accidentally time-travels ten years into the future. But what he finds there is not necessarily what he expects to see. And what he should do after finding out the truth is the thing that really matters. DeathFic.
1. A Warning

**Written:** March 21, 2013, 2:44AM

**Title:** Just Some Memories Of...

**Author:** born on the day of earthquakes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ao no Exorcist. This is merely a fanfiction.

**Warnings:**  
* A bit of language  
* A bit of spoilers  
* A bit of OC  
* A companion one-shot  
* A paranoid author

**A/N:** This is my attempt to angst, comedy, drama, and mystery Ao no Exorcist multi-chapter fanfiction. I'm telling you, it's like I'm messing with the AoNoEx storyline. XD

**Rated T** for language and theme.

* * *

Just Some Memories of...** [A Warning]**

_Prologue_

* * *

— Setting: Ten Years Later —

The crackle of the flames could be heard as the young demon stood there surrounded by numerous exorcists and other demons.

"I already told you to move out of my way."

The voice was cold. It was so unexpectedly cold that ice seemed to pierce the backs of those who listened. There was the glint of those bright blue eyes and the determination in them, staring the others down with unwavering glare mixed with boredom.

"The hell we will!"

There was that other voice. It broke through the soft crackle of flames with its threathening tone. But it seemed also uncharacteristically worried and afraid at the same time.

"You had been gone for ten years! Ten years, idiot, and all you tell us is to move aside so that you can destroy our school!? You _really_ are an idiot!" the owner of the second voice continued while the rest of his comrades and the other demons stared at him as he yelled.

The young demon leader stared back at the man yelling at him. Even if the young demon was really different from what he was ten years ago, he could tell that this man yelling at him was someone he cared for. But that was years ago. It was very different from now.

"You do not understand," the young demon said. There was a clear anger in his voice now and that visible wrath marred his beautiful young face. "When I said that I can destroy True Cross, I wasn't kidding."

He raised a hand. All of the demons went alert at their master's signal.

"All you have to do is to let me meet with certain someone," the young demon said. "And if you decide to get in my way, then I have no choice but to destroy you like I will to your beloved organization."

The hand went down and the demons started to move.

"Choose wisely."

The air was full of demons cackling. There was beating of leathery wings and clicking of sharp claws and teeth.

The horde of demons was attacking.

And just as suddenly, there was an explosion. Thick smoke engulfed the young leader of demons, causing the demon attack to halt. The cackling was replaced by worried screeches as the demons flock towards where their leader had been, searching through the smoke tinged by pink.

There was a brief indignant yell followed by a "Get off me!". It was the same as voice of the young demon leader, but also very different. The screeches continued as the smoke thinned, until a harsh wind unveiled the boy in the midst of demons and pink smoke. He was wrapped in blue flames, a sword in hand as he kept the worried demons at bay with the sword tip.

"I said 'get off'!" Okumura Rin warned, much to the surprise of all those around him.


	2. A Fight

**Written:** February 13, 2013 11AM - March 4, 2013 12:20AM

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ao no Exorcist. This is merely a fanfiction.

* Hachinoko - bee larvae ( loneleeplanet 2010/02/ 10-weird-japanese-foods/) I don't really know that either. Just some random search of Japanese bug snack.

* * *

Just Some Memories Of...** [A Fight]**

_Chapter One_

* * *

— Setting: Ten Years Later —

A explosion rocked the whole floor and all the blond woman could do was to hold on the wall to support herself. The basin she was supposed to bring to the nearby room clanged to the ground, soaking the floor with the hot water it contained. She looked at the direction where she felt the tremor probably originated as she frowned, biting her bottom lip as tears sprang on her eyes at the thought of what that explosion could have brought to her friends.

"I wonder if they're alright..." she whispered, approaching the window and watching the smoke coming from the tree tops.

"Moriyama-san! Please bring the hot water here," another girl called out to the blond.

"Oh, I'll be right there!" the girl called Shiemi answered and rushed to get another supply of warm water.

Meanwhile, the cloud of smoke that curled from the recent attack barely died down as a tall man stood with his feet firmly on the uneven stony ground. He had an arm in front of his face, trying to protect it from the debris that might come flying from the explosion. He looked around warily, anticipating any attack lurking from the cloud of dust.

"Help me!"

A dark-and-pink haired young man suddenly emerged from the smoke, running like his life depended on it. Tears were falling from his wide scared eyes while his mouth remained open to scream. He headed straight for the taller man, hiding behind him.

"Just what in the world happened, Shima?" the taller male asked the other, watching the smaller man cower behind his back while holding on the K'rik with both hands defensively.

"Th-There... th-there's, you know..." Shima stuttered. He was waving his hand in a circular motion as he looked at the direction where he came from, wide eyes anticipating whatever the thing that had been following him.

"Speak clearly, would you?" A girl walked out of the cloud of dust. Her hair was tied in a tight ponytail as she shook her small head slightly, looking at Shima disapprovingly. "It'd be a problem if you keep stuttering like that, _dear_."

"You always call me 'dear', but your tone and actions are just oh-so-harsh, Izumo-chan..." Shima said with slight tears still flowing from his eyes. The male beside him could only pat him encouragingly on the shoulder, smiling at the tough relationship between the tsundere and the playboy attached to her.

The girl turned to the other boy. "We were fighting ghouls when a sudden wave of coal tar appeared and swarmed around us," the girl said. She nodded to her boyfriend. "He got afraid and began running away. He's just as stupid as always."

"But coal tars are just so... tiny and black... and they're like bugs..." Shima said, letting the tips of his index fingers meet as he tried to explain his situation. But Izumo just clicked her tongue in irritation. Suddenly, her expression brightened while Shima's clearly darkened when he saw the glint in her red eyes.

"How does hachinoko* sound? Hmm, dear? We'll have it as a snack when we get home..." _(*bee larvae; see above)_

"Please, no!" was all Shima managed before slumping on the ground. He looked at the chuckling man just beside him, frowning. "Come on! Don't just laugh there, Bon. You've got to stop her! I don't want to have another stomachache!"

The man called Bon ignored Shima and turned to Izumo.

"That'll go well with some beer. I'll bring some," he said with a smile.

"I hate you..." Shima muttered, closing his fist tightly.

Suddenly, the earbuds in their respective ears gave a short buzz.

"Attention to all exorcist! Immediate assistance is needed at target 2.45. Code Blue, code Blue!"

"Code Blue?!" Izumo exclaimed, surprise written all over her face. The three of them paled, looking at each other with identical expressions.

A smile broke out on Bon's lips. "A kin of the emperor of Gehenna has arrived, huh?" he said. "Let's give him our warmest welcome."

* * *

The moon hung on the starry sky, full and looked larger than usual. It was like a glaring white eye in the middle of a dotted and misty background, watching the scene below with indifference.

The same went for him. The world was a beautiful midnight blue, the darkness creating patterns on the uneven ground beneath his feet. Trees surrounded him and let him feel the coolness of the night. There wasn't an insect in sight as he felt the offensive aura of the gate wide open behind him. He had opened the gate himself using his own blood. Of course, he didn't tell his father or any of his brothers of what he did. He would be going to Assiah to find a certain demon, after all.

He looked around. At first, he thought he messed up locating the proper place to open the gate when he saw the tall trees surrounding him. But the nearby explosion and the hurrying humans clad in that particular uniform told him that he was in the right place. He was in the grounds of True Cross Academy, the school that he was supposed to visit. He knew it was dangerous with the demon attack going on and the exorcists trying to stop the incoming horde of demons. But he was too worried that before he could notice, he was already stepping through that blue-and-brown gate that separated the two worlds from each other.

So there he was in front of half a dozen exorcists and watched them prepare to assault him. He knew that his aura was different from other demons. Humans, even the densest ones, could tell that he wasn't any other demon just from looking at his blue flames and sword. The flames told of his lineage and the sword was anti-demon, meaning not any simple demon could wield it but the strongest ones who can fight off the aura of the blessed sword.

The exorcists watched him with scared but keen eyes. One of them was already speaking to his communication device, calling for backup. But Rin paid them no heed and decided to have a look around for signs of any familiar buildings.

"Who are you?" one of the exorcists yelled. They were all young, about fifteen years old or younger.

He looked the same age as them, but was smaller in height and built. Only his boots made him look tall and his eyeglasses made him look a bit older. He noticed that they wore simple white shirts with stripped black-and-red neckties, dark pants for boys while skirts for girls. It made him smile as he realized that they were only exorcists-in-training. They were weak that they weren't a big deal. One sweep of his sword and they would all be unconscious. Killed, even.

But luckily for them, he wasn't there to fight. He was there to look for someone, and the possible easiest way to find the one he was looking for was to ask these persons in front of him. He tried to play it safe by answering their question. Doing so would lower their guard and let him get what he wanted.

"I'm Rin, a prince of Gehenna," he said shortly, planting his feet firmly on the ground as the humans around him visibly flinched. He could not blame them; even in Gehenna, he was known to be one of the ruthless children of their emperor. He looked at those humans in the eyes one by one, wanting to laugh at their growing fear. "I am here to lead the demons back to where we came from and close the open Gehenna gate."

His words brought surprise in them. Of course, it was surprising to find a king of demons stating that he would return an uncontrollable horde of demons back to Gehenna out of the blue, right?

But to Rin, it wasn't just an impulse. He was a demon on a mission.

"Will you look at that?" a sudden deep voice called out, getting the attention of the other exorcists and Rin's. The man who spoke wore his usual white clothing that gets carried by the breeze. He was followed by two older guards that were his guards. "What do we have here? A prince, am I right?"

"Good evening, Paladin," Rin said, smiling at the newcomer. He knew the man: Paladin, the highest rank among the exorcists. His name was Arthur Auguste Angel. Yes, Rin knew his name because the Paladin was his dream position... the dream position he wanted to kill just to spite exorcists.

"What does a prince demon like you want in Assiah?" the Paladin asked with a frown. "Surely, you aren't here to just greet us and leave with all your minions back to wherever you came from."

Rin continued to smile. "I am actually planning to do that, Paladin. Now, if you'd excuse me and just let me do what I planned, it'll be a less work for you and your fellows."

"You must be kidding," the Paladin said. "Demons aren't generous. If you would do something that might benefit another, I'm sure you're planning to have a benefit from it as well."

"Well... there's a little bit that I want," Rin replied. "There's someone who I'm looking for. I ask you exorcists to at least give me some time to look for him after I order the demons to return to Gehenna."

"Spare me the lies, please," the Paladin said. He held on the hilt of his large sword. "Caliburn, prepare."

"Sure, Arthur! Since you asked in that cool voice of yours!"

Before Rin could even react, the Paladin slashed his sword in a wide arc, sending a golden crescent light towards the young demon. Rin could only watch as the attack approached him swiftly while the other younger exorcists ran for cover at the possible aftershock.

But Rin just stood there. Blue flames suddenly erupted from beneath his feet in a thin sheet, rushing upwards to meet the incoming attack. The golden light was swallowed by the flames before being turned into crumbling ash. Those ashes were also burned into nothing by the cerulean flames.

"I'm telling you," Rin said. His eyes were devoid of mirth yet his lips were curved up to a small smile. "I can annihilate you all in a matter of seconds and destroy True Cross in minutes. But I will spare your lives and let the demons go back to Gehenna as well if you just allow me to get to the other side of the academy grounds."

"Oh no, you don't!" a shrill voice of a woman shouted. Before Rin could even turn at the source of the voice, several white foxes jumped on him. He could also hear a hear a faint irritating high-pitched note against his ears, making him feel light-headed. The sound was surely a cause of the chants of some Aria.

The foxes bit into his arms and legs, breaking his skin and piercing his flesh. The rows of pointed fangs drew blood, and the smell assaulted his nostrils as he tried to shake the animals away from their bite on him. Suddenly, Rin felt that the world was tilting. He had to get away fast or he might not be able to finish what he came to do.

And then, the world turned blue right before his very eyes.

* * *

Bon focused at the task at hand. Izumo had summoned her foxes and the familiars rushed to distract the demon while he and Shima mutter their chants to weaken the demon. He thought that this demon felt familiar, especially that messy dark hair and bright blue eyes, but his blue flames was enough to say that he was a royalty from Gehenna — an enemy.

The plan of the trio was working. The demon was struggling against the foxes and the chant. After all, the three exorcists has the element of surprise on their side. But that was only until the demon decided to draw his sword.

It was beautiful, a katana that reflected the silver rays of the full moon above. It swung in a dangerously wide arc, glistening with the silver light and blue flames. One swing was all it took to make the foxes disappear and to shred all of Izumo's summoning paper. And that one swing of the sword also caused a powerful wave to sweep the exorcists off their feet.

A laugh came from the gate. And then it was followed by even more chilling and careless giggles. More demons poured from the open Gehenna gate behind the young demon, like thick smoke that was composed of darkness with an unexpectedly united mind.

Suddenly, it was chaos. The trees around them snapped and break with the harsh wind. The whole clearing smelled of burning as blue flames spread across the forest in an uncontrollable manner. Amidst the blue blaze was a lone standing figure. His eyes were also blue but had a red luminous tint as well. The sword he was holding was Kurikara, the sword that was lost with a certain person around a decade ago.

The crackle of the flames could be heard as the young demon stood there surrounded by numerous exorcists and other demons.

"I already told you to move out of my way."

The voice was cold. It was so unexpectedly cold that ice seemed to pierce the backs of those who listened. There was the glint of those bright blue eyes and the determination in them, staring the others down with unwavering glare mixed with boredom.

"The hell we will!" Bon yelled. It broke through the soft crackle of flames with its threathening tone. But it seemed also uncharacteristically worried and afraid at the same time.

Yes, Bon knew the young man. And he noticed that Shima and Izumo had recognized him too, but the two were too surprised to talk and would only stare at the person — demon — in front of them.

"You had been gone for ten years! Ten years, idiot, and all you tell us is to move aside so that you can destroy our school!? You _really_ are an idiot!" Bon continued while the rest of his comrades and the other demons stared at him as he yelled.

The young demon leader stared back at the man yelling at him. Even if this demon was really different from what he was ten years ago, he could tell that this man yelling at him was someone he cared for. But that was years ago. It was very different from now.

"You do not understand," the young demon said. There was a clear anger in his voice now and that visible wrath marred his beautiful young face. "When I said that I can destroy True Cross, I wasn't kidding."

He raised a hand. All of the demons went alert at their master's signal.

"All you have to do is to let me meet with a certain someone," the young demon said. "If you decide to get in my way, then I have no choice but to destroy you like I will to your beloved organization."

The hand went down and the demons started to move.

"Choose wisely."

The air was full of demons cackling. There was beating of leathery wings and clicking of sharp claws and teeth.

The demons were attacking.

And just as suddenly, there was an explosion. Thick smoke engulfed the young leader of demons, causing the demon attack to halt. The cackling was replaced by worried screeches as the demons flock towards where their leader had been, searching through the smoke tinged by pink.

There was a brief indignant yell followed by a "Get off me!". It was the same as voice of the young demon leader, but also very different. The screeches continued as the smoke thinned, until a harsh wind unveiled the boy in the midst of demons and pink smoke. He was wrapped in blue flames, a sword in hand as he kept the worried demons at bay with the sword tip.

"I said 'get off'!" Okumura Rin in a True Cross Academy uniform said, much to the surprise of all those around him.

* * *

**TBC**


	3. A Time Traveller

**Written:** April 18, 2013 6:09PM - April 24, 2013 9:18AM

**Disclaimer:** Ao no Exorcist does not belong to "born on the day of earthquakes". This is a fanfiction.

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Time Traveller]**

_Chapter Two_

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

"Niisan, I'll be submitting my report to Sir Pheles."

A sound of a pair of hands slamming on the table was heard. "What are you talking about? I'm almost done preparing lunch! And it's Sunday. You should be free of work!"

There was a small patient smile. "It'll just take a few minutes. I really should submit this— "

"No is no, Okumura Yukio!"

"I'll be back in thirty minutes!" And Yukio bolted out of the door, bringing the folder of the report with him.

"Yukio, come back here this instant!" Rin pointed his spoon towards the closing door. But he knew that he could do nothing to stop his brother from submitting that stupid report. "And thirty minutes is a long time, little brother!"

Rin placed his hand down when he heard the door click close, knowing that his brother was already several kilometers away to hear his mumbling. He raised his fist to punch the kitchen table, when he began to think twice about destroying the said table. Yeah, he should just sigh and focus on cooking.

But still, his younger brother could be so punctual and responsible and such sometimes. No, most of the time. And it was freakingly frustrating and stressful for the older twin.

_'Rin...'_ came a little voice from behind the boy.

"What!" Rin snapped angrily, turning around to see Kuro meowing on the kitchen counter. The demon cat stepped back in fear of its master. Rin noticed and flashed an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. What is it?"

The cat waved its twin tails. _'The pot is boiling over...'_

"Oh shit."

Rin had finished with his preparations in ten minutes. He laid out the food on the table and Kuro looked at the dishes hungrily as it sat on the table.

For more than twenty minutes, there had been no sign of the younger boy. Kuro looked ready to pounce on the food and Rin just sighed at the excitement of the cat.

"Not yet, Kuro."

_'But I'm really hungry, Rin!'_ the cat complained with a considerable frown on its face. _'Not yet?'_

Rin shook his head and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Yukio's not here yet. Just... just five more minutes. If he's not here by that time, we'll eat."

The seconds didn't stop no matter how hard Rin stared at the wall clock. He must admit that he wanted to eat with his brother. He was thinking that it was just like any other day: Yukio would suddenly show late at the door with that apologetic smile and they would soon eat together. But that didn't happen, as five minutes was over in an instant.

"Okay, let's eat."

Kuro purred as it launched on the meat on its bowl while Rin glanced at the door. Picking up his own spoon, he finally began to eat. He didn't want a really cold lunch, after all.

**[...]**

"CLOWN!"

Rin barged into the office, throwing the heavy door wide open as his sword clang silently in its case on his back. It was really disrespectful of him to run into the office of the principal like that, but it didn't cross his mind and he didn't care.

Except, the office was empty.

Somewhere else in the academy grounds, Mephisto Pheles sipped his tea while enjoying the afternoon sunlight. Smiling, he said to himself, "I feel someone just called me. But no matter. I'm still having tea."

Back in the empty office, Rin narrowed his eyes when he saw no clowns in the said room. Yukio wasn't there either. Rin had come to this conclusion after looking at the walls, under the chair and tables, inside the cabinets and drawers, between the piles of paper on the desk...

"Dammit!" Rin exclaimed, punching Mephisto's oak table hard. He didn't care how the wood groaned and cracked slightly beneath his strength, unlike the care he had given on his kitchen table back in the dorm.

He was starting to get worried. Not for the table nor the clown, but for his brother. It had been a couple of hours since lunch and Yukio hadn't shown up. Rin had gone to the clown's office and Yukio wasn't there either. There was only one thing Rin can think of. After all, it was something Yukio had been doing every time he suddenly disappeared.

"He's on a mission," Rin deduced. He plopped down on one of Mephisto's chairs and began to wait. He was going to make sure that Yukio will get the scolding of a lifetime.

**[...]**

Yukio shot at the advancing demon. He hid behind a pillar and immediately changed the magazine of his gun. He took a calculating look around before darting to the next pillar, downing a couple of demons after setting holy water bullets on them while running.

"Niisan will kill me..." he said to himself. His stomach grumbled and his head ached from hunger and fatigue. He had been finishing his report all night. And when he was about to submit the paper in Sir Pheles's office, Shura showed up and pulled him into a van straight to a mission. He was immediately briefed in the vehicle as firearms were handed to him.

Seriously, the older exorcists should think twice before pulling a boy in school uniform into a battle between humans and demons. But Yukio had observed that the older exorcists think otherwise. Thankfully, Shura had loaned him her extra exorcist coat to cover his uniform and for protection as well.

So there was Yukio fighting demons in a ghost town miles away from True Cross Academy. Rin will really kill him after this.

**[...]**

Another hour came and went. Rin tapped his feet on the carpeted floor as he tried to keep himself still. Only his tail kept twirling and shaking behind him, accompanied by the deepening frown upon his face. Unable to bear the boredom, he yelled and stood up.

"What the hell is taking them?!" he asked the empty room, stomping his feet repeatedly like he was trying to kill a bug on the ground. There was still no white-clad demon nor black-dressed exorcist in the office no matter how long he waited (even though it had been just an hour).

Somewhere else in the academy grounds, Mephisto Pheles sipped his tea while enjoying the afternoon sunlight. Smiling, he said to himself, "I feel someone is looking for me. But no matter. I'm still having tea."

Back in the office, Rin was full of sitting so he walked around the room, looking and touching things cluttered in the principal's office.

He walked through a door on the far wall, curious as to where it would lead him. But he was disappointed. Even though he was a bit of an otaku himself, he wasn't really a fan of the Honey Honey Sisters, of which posters, figurines, stuffed toys, cards and other goods of the mentioned girls filled the room.

"How boring..." Rin said to himself. "Isn't that clown called Samael, the demon king of time and space? Isn't there supposed to be a secret door leading to a secret room filled with hocus pocus and demon crap instead of these..." He picked up a plushed doll by its head. It stared at him with cute albeit large lifeless eyes. "...girly things?"

Still he looked around until he came to the far corner of the room. He thought there was a slight tingle on his skin when he went in that corner, but he ignored the sensation as he looked at the small wooden table with six legs. The table was covered by a red velvety cloth. And on that cloth lay a small disk of what seemed to be a mirror, as it had reflected his face.

"What's this?" he asked silently, stretching out a hand to pick up the mirror. The tip of his finger touched the surface of the mirror instead, and a number appeared on the surface like a blinding reflection of light.

**1... 2... 3... 4... 5...**

It started counting slowly. Rin tried to shield his eyes as the light-made numbers grew brighter. He cursed, trying to draw back his hand, but the mirror seemed to turn into a puddle of light that tried to suck him in.

**6... 7... 8... 9... 10...**

"STOP, dammit!" he yelled.

Obediently, the force pulling him stopped. The light started to die down as he pulled his hand away and he stepped back from the table. Sighing, he turned to leave the room before anything else happened to him.

He was too late.

A familiar pink smoke exploded on his face. He sneezed at the sweet smell of candies assaulting his nose. Moving his feet, he was all ready to run from the office. But rather than the carpeted floor beneath him, there was an unfamiliar dusty ground littered with wild grass and stones. He tried to look through the smoke when a group of coal tar flew before his eyes, oddly wearing a look of worry. They began clinging on his hair with their tiny pointed hands.

"Get off me!" he yelled. He felt on his back, where his trusty sword always hang in its red-and-black casing. Pulling the katana out of its blue sheath, his flames immeadiately appeared and burned some of the coal tar. But a little number of the small demons continued to grip on his hair.

"I said 'get off'!" he yelled as he unleashed more of his flames, successfully burning the small demons and dissipating the pink smoke around him. And that was when he found out that he was in a completely different place.

The first thing that he noticed were the numerous unfamiliar exorcists staring back at his with surprise and fear on their faces. He was used to those expressions when he use his flames, but the fact that he had been standing in an otaku's room seconds ago and standing on the forest clearing now fazed him. And to be surrounded by a dozen demon hunters armed and dangerous added to the thrill.

The forest was somehow familiar and unfamiliar. He thought that the shadows of the night made the forest around him feel different, but he was sure that he was just outside True Cross Academy. He looked at the exorcists again. Like him, they were wearing the school uniform.

Still, he hated those fear and anger in their eyes.

* * *

**TBC**


	4. A Traitor

**Written:** March 12, 2013 11:09am - May 2, 2013 7:26PM

**Disclaimer:** Ao no Exorcist does not belong to "born on the day of earthquakes". This is a fanfiction, if you haven't noticed, haha!

**A/N:** For some reason, I was really happy to see older Shima brothers in animation in the first movie! Even though it was such a short scene. XD

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Traitor]**

_Chapter Three_

* * *

— Setting: Ten Years Later —

"Get off me!" Okumura Rin in a True Cross Academy uniform said. "I said _'get off'!_"

As expected, everyone was surprised. A while ago, there was a powerful demon who threatened a dozen exorcists and their organization with the presence of uncounted demons pouring from the Gehenna gate. And now this demon had disappeared to be replaced by a fierce-eyed younger boy wrapped in blue flames.

This new boy was a few centimeters shorter than the former one. Yet he carried the same blue eyes, the same dark hair, the pointed fangs and ears. But this time, he was clad in a simple white shirt with a neat stripped tie, black pants and red heavy boots. The two bright flames on his head served as his horns, and the furry tail swayed behind him as if on fire.

_'Young master...'_ the demons chorused in their own language unheard by humans. But Rin had heard it clearly.

"GET OFF!" the young half demon yelled, swinging his sword dangerously. Flames erupted in a vast wave from his move, sending most of the demons at his reach into ashes. "How many times do I have to repeat that!?"

He glared at the demons one by one. Or rather, he could not stare at each one because of the ridiculous number of the otherworldly beings that lurk like a thick curtain of darkness around him.

_'Please calm down, Rin-sama...'_

_'Prince...'_

_'We're all your servants,...'_

"Shut up!" Rin yelled. "_'Servants'_ your 'ss! Get out of my sight!"

From afar, Izumo and her companions blinked.

"What in the world is he doing?" she murmured. She saw Rin catching her eye, but it seemed that the boy did not recognize her. Rin's eyes then shifted a little bit upwards from the eyes of the unfamiliar girl. He frowned for a while before realizing, whispering softly, "Eyebrows...?"

Even with the barely heard voice and the huge distance between them, Izumo suddenly exclaimed with an angry stomp, "Who the hell are you calling 'Eyebrows', shorty?!"

Shima raised his hands in attempt to calm her down. He hadn't heard Rin's name-calling.

"What are you talking about, Izumo-chan? No one called you 'Eyeb'—"

Izumo shot him a glare before he could repeat the word, and Shima could only visibly swallow in fear. Sighing, she turned back to Rin.

"O-Okumura," she called testily. She flinched a little when Rin looked at her and their eyes met. "You... You're really Okumura Rin, right?"

"Yes!" Rin answered angrily. He pointed a finger to her and said, "You're really Eyebrows, aren't you?"

"I'm Kamiki Izumo!" the said girl replied. "Are you doubting me?"

"But you're doubting me too—!"

"Anyway!" Izumo cleared her throat. "I have something ask you. This request may be absurd, but you have to ask the demons surrounding you to leave through the open Gehenna gate just behind you."

"Izumo-chan?" Shima exclaimed. Even Bon was looking at her incredulously. "What are you talking about? Why are you asking—?"

"The demons consider Okumura Rin as their master and would follow his command," Izumo explained shortly. She looked at Rin, and the boy thought that there was pleading in her dark red eyes. "Can I count on you, Okumura?"

"I disagree, young lady," Arthur suddenly spoke. "The demon spawn cannot be trusted. These demons should be killed!"

"But what you're asking impossible, sir! We cannot kill all these demons in this instant," Izumo countered. She knew she was pushing it. Her plan might not work either, but she wanted to try. "Please, sir! If... if Okumura Rin betrays us again, I am willing to give up my Upper First Class Exorcist title."

Arthur looked at her questionably. "You seem to trust that demon so much."

Before the current Paladin could say anything further, Rin yelled as his eyes widened, "What, you're Upper First Class Exorcist, Eyebrows?"

Grinning, he turned towards the demons, standing with his back straight."All right, demons! Form straight lines! Arms forward, raise! Sideward! Down! Now, walk through the Gehenna gate in an orderly fashion!"

Like a large group of soldiers walking, except some has no feet and others are flying and crawling, the demons filed through the Gehenna gate "in an orderly fashion!"

"Well, that was fast..." Bon remarked.

"... and weird," Shima added. And then he shook violently and tried to hit a straying coal tar with his K'rik. His staff had been good for swatting bugs lately.

The exorcists watched the weird procession of demons making their way obediently to Gehenna. Soon enough, the gate closed with a loud deafening bang.

"... and they slammed the door on our face," Shima added one more time. A coal tar flew by him again, smiling evilly. But Bon just caught it with his fingers, effectively squashing it with a pop.

Rin bounded towards Izumo's group after sheathing his sword. He stopped right in front of the girl, eyes sparkling.

"Upper First Class Exorcist, huh?" he repeated, taking note of Izumo's appearance. She had her hair in an elegant bun, while her hair framed her still-round face and sharper eyes. She wore an open exorcist coat over a dress with a belt full of packets carrying small sheets of paper and vials. Despite her loose clothing, she seemed to have more curves than she had when she was smaller.

Rin didn't forget to add, "You look older."

"You look... younger," Izumo replied, crossing her arms.

Shima shifted near Rin and Izumo, looking at Rin up and down. He had dark hair with pink highlights. He wore an exorcist coat as well. Slightly taller than Rin had last seen him, he leaned down while displaying a large grin on his face.

"You look just like you did years ago!" he said as Bon stepped beside him.

"Still an idiot," Bon commented, making Rin frown. Bon looked just the same, though also taller and wore the exorcist coat, but he didn't have his piercings and has slightly longer hair.

"What d'you say!?" Rin exclaimed.

"And NOW deaf."

"Bastard... What's your problem?"

"What's your problem?" Bon asked back. "All these years you're gone, and you're going to come back here as a _time-traveller_?"

Rin was taken back. "'Time... traveller'?"

"What else are you?"

Izumo looked at Rin curiously. "Suguro-kun has a point. Okumura, what is the year today?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course it's...!" And Rin told them the year.

Shima flicked Rin on the forehead playfully. "You're the one who's kidding. She's asking what the year is today, not from ten years before." He looked at Bon and Izumo and was about to laugh when he saw their serious expressions. He stared back at Rin, dumbfounded. "What the hell? You're really a time-traveller!?"

"So this is really ten years into the future?" Rin asked. He looked unconvinced. Taking a glance around, he saw exorcists and those -in-training whispering among themselves. It was all too familiar, just like those times when he was surrounded by people who believe that he was nothing but a mad demon. "I take it that I'm still the 'dangerous Satan's spawn'. But hey, where's Yukio?"

For a moment, the three looked at each other. They seemed to communicate with only their eyes. Rin couldn't catch on with the eye-conversation but when he was about to ask, Izumo answered, "Okumura-sensei is... _resting_."

"From a mission? I didn't expect that. He's always busy, that workaholic. But it's good to hear that he finds time to rest," Rin remarked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He smiled and looked around for other familiar faces. "What about Konekomaru and Shiemi? I don't see them around."

"Mission," was what Izumo immediately answered.

"Koneko-san's in Italy. He's a mission strategist and Italy's the center of his current operation. Moriyama-san's assigned in the Doctor's quarters inside the school," Shima added, taking pity at the overly curious time-traveller. And then he slapped both of his palms over his own mouth, looking accusingly at Rin. "Shouldn't we keep quiet about our lives? He might return to his time and try to change the future... and the time we're currently in will not exist!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rin asked. He was confused more than ever.

"Putting that aside—" Izumo started saying when Arthur suddenly appeared by their side. He was holding his large sword against Rin's neck, which Izumo, Bon, Shima and Rin were staring at in horror and surprise.

"I've listened enough of your conversation," Arthur said, his voice deep. Rin had always thought that the current Paladin was nothing more than a figurehead, But up-close, Rin could somehow say that the man was suited on the position. There was a serious glint in his beautiful light-blue eyes, saying that despite his name was "Angel", he could kill a child — especially if the said kid is partially or fully demon.

"Sir—!"

"No more excuses, Kamiki Izumo," Arthur interrupted. He was still looking straight at Rin's eyes, his hands itching to move so that he could see the head of a specific person rolling on the ground. "I will not allow a _traitor_ walk on my grounds."

"Traitor, traitor, _traitor_!" Rin repeated. "What are you talking about? I know I'm a child of Satan but I don't ever remember betraying you!"

"Shut up!" Arthur yelled so loud that all those who heard were suddenly looking at their direction. It was apparent that the Paladin was shaking in anger. "If I kill you right now, then everything could work out just fine. _That child_ won't... and _that woman_ wouldn't have to..."

"Sir, please calm down..!"

Arthur finally broke eye contact from Rin and turned to Izumo when he heard her voice. She was pleading, as shown by her tearful eyes.

"Sir... please don't kill Okumura Rin. Just take him custody, but please don't kill him."

Arthur and the rest of the exorcists were surprised. The woman in front of them was one of the top students who graduated all throughout the years of after-school exorcism classes in True Cross Academy. This same girl rose to Upper First Class Exorcist in just five years. She was also in the list of possible Paladin after Arthur retires.

And now, Kamiki Izumo was crying — pleading — just so this child... this traitor... this _demon_ could escape death.

Arthur tried to calm his nerves. He knew that wrath twists proper decision-making. Biting his lip, he finally exhaled as he tried to relieve the pressure inside him caused by anger. He raised the hand holding his large sword...

... and let the hilt of the said sword hit against the side of Okumura Rin's head, causing the child to crumple to the ground in pain and lose consciousness not long afterwards.

Arthur turned on his heels and walked away while saying, "Capture Okumura Rin and lock him in the headquarters basement."

"..." Izumo smiled gratefully. "Y-Yes, Sir."

* * *

Bon and Shima sat in front of each other with a table in between them. They were in the balcony just outside of Izumo's rented room.

"Today had been a surprise," Bon started saying. "After ten years, for Okumura to suddenly appear like this..."

Shima silently sat there, head bowed as he stared at his feet. He had been quiet ever since the event that took part earlier that evening.

"Heck, I don't even know what to think of..." Bon continued absently. He seemed to be talking to himself more than he did to Shima. "Especially after what happened... around ten years ago..."

"Snacks are ready, boys!" Izumo chimed in, carrying a particular covered bowl. A couple of bottles of beer were already on the table, as well as a small glass the would share for the drink.

Izumo laid the bowl on the table as she sat beside Shima. Surprisingly, the boy shifted on his seat and looked away from the girl. Of course, Izumo and Bon immediately noticed.

"Is there something wrong?" Izumo asked. She poured beer in the glass and was about to hand Shima the drink, but he scouted away.

"Hey, Shima, what's up? You've been acting weird," Bon asked. "We should enjoy this evening, you know. Kamiki's finally given a short break from her Upper First Class exorcist duties."

"Come on," Izumo said. But Shima ignored her and pointedly looked away. Suddenly, Izumo grabbed his collar and asked, "Really, what's the problem, Renzou?"

Shima hit her hand away.

"This afternoon..." For a moment, Shima looked really serious. He stared at the eyes of his girlfriend. "Okumura Rin and you... what — why did you... why did you stand up for him with so much determination?"

Izumo was taken back. A blush spread on her face as she asked slowly, "Are you jealous?"

"What!? Of course!" There was a mixture of emotions flashing across Shima's face and it made Izumo blush even more.

Bon had taken the drink from Izumo's hand and downed it in successive gulps. "Should I leave this table so that you two can finish this business between yourselves?"

"No need," Izumo replied. She took the glass from Bon and filled it up again. Staring at the golden-brown liquid, she continued, "I was just thinking... if Okumura had died, I think it won't make Yukio— Okumura-sensei happy."

"He's a traitor!" Shima exclaimed. "Okumura — Rin — you do know that he... ten years ago—!"

"I know! Who doesn't?" Izumo replied, her voice rising. She had tears in her eyes again. "It's just... so sad. I don't think they deserve to have such fate."

"Nobody deserves to die on the hands of another, may it be because of a whim or revenge,... or anything else. Each one has his own time to kick the bucket," Bon said, thinking of Arthur and the Okumura twins. And then he shrugged. "The Okumura we have now is from ten years past. It seems that he knows nothing yet... about Okumura-sensei's case or his own betrayal."

"Then..." Shima looked at Izumo, who looked back at him. "You and Okumura... you don't...?"

"I don't like him in the way you're implying!" Izumo said, slapping Shima harshly on the shoulder. But Shima felt a smile on his face, as well as the sting that Izumo's hand had brought to his shoulder.

"Really?"

"Really."

Bon frowned uncertainly. "Are you guys sure I shouldn't leave this table yet...?"

"Yeah, Bon, you should leave." Shima's smile was ear to ear. "Izumo and I are going to have some hot—"

Izumo hit him again, harder than the last one. "Do it by yourself."

"But..." Shima looked thoughtful.

Izumo frowned. She lifted the bowl of snacks from the table, removing the lid. "Never mind. Here, have some snacks, dear!"

She slammed the bowl onto Shima's face. It was full of _hachinoko_* and Shima fainted milliseconds after impact. Bon watched Shima fall helplessly on the ground while Izumo crossed her arms angrily.

"So the drinking party had just been cancelled, huh?" he said to himself. "I better head back to my apartment."

As he stood from his seat, he looked up at the stars. There were some blue stars, after all.

"I think I should do something else," he said softly to himself.

Shima looked up drowsily but curiously. "What did you say, Bon?"

Bon just grinned teasingly. "I said I think I should give you two your much awaited quality time. Be sure to use protection."

And he left Izumo's apartment with the woman throwing pillows at him and the other male grinning knowingly.

* * *

* Hachinoko - bee larvae; see A/N in chapter two for a link or just google it by yourselves XD


	5. A Murderer

**Written:** March 03, 2013 10:07PM - May 02, 2013 10:57PM

**Disclaimer:** I do not own AnE.

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Murderer]**

_Chapter Four_

* * *

— Setting: Ten Years Later —

Rin opened his eyes. The shadows met his eyes but he could still see the blocks of cement, the metallic bars and the pieces of demon-sealing paper that created his cell. He didn't know where he was, but he was sure he was in a prison in an exorcist headquarters.

He sat up and looked around. Only torches lit the place. His sword was nowhere in sight. There were men outside his cell, ready to call reinforcements the moment he tried to escape despite him being unarmed. They were about half a dozen.

He shifted to his side, ready to sleep again. But then he stopped when he noticed that the men supposed to guard him were already unconscious.

A rather large man walked toward the edge of the bars, holding a hand to his nose. He never thought that his plan of putting the men to sleep using a chant would work so easily against the guards.

Rin stared, surprised. "Bon?"

Indeed, it was the man with slanting eyes and carefully styled black-and-blond hair. He had a stubble on his chin, while a seemingly permanent scowl accentuated his glare.

"My name is Suguro Ryuuji. I'm now a Lower First Class exorcist, currently an Aria, which is the same position Shima Renzou holds," he said, glaring. "And I don't remember ever allowing you to call me 'Bon'."

Rin frowned. As he inspected the eyes of the older male, rather than the usual uninterest, he thought he could see pity in them.

"What do you want?" he asked. He didn't understand but he still felt irritation even though this man was already ten years older than that specific classmate of Rin's.

"You were asking about Okumura-sensei earlier, right?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah. What is it to you?"

He could see Bon biting back his anger that Rin almost laughed.

"I've thought about this," Bon said slowly. "And I've decided I should really tell you."

"What are you talking about?"

Bon brought out his right hand from his pocket. A jingle of keys could be heard as he unlocked the cell door.

"Follow me."

* * *

Before Rin noticed it, they were going through some random door opened by one of Bon's keys and they were walking outside.

It was dawn and the sun will surely be rising just minutes later. The impending sunrise colored the sky with interesting hues of blue and white. The slightly cloudy horizon promised a fine day, even though the coldness still rolled on the ground from the night before.

They were in a cemetery.

"Hey, where are we going?" Rin asked several times already. He looked around and found that the rows of marble and cement fascinated him. Each one carried a name, each carried the identity of someone who is already lost from the world — of someone who passed on and gone forever.

No matter how many times he asked, Bon didn't answer. Rin was starting to get impatient. For a moment, he thought Bon might be messing with him.

But Bon's unhalted steps and determined silence told Rin otherwise. And Bon releasing him from the heavily guarded headquarters basement just to show where Yukio is was surprising. This man who looked more than ten years older than Rin walked in a hurried pace while Rin followed him effortlessly. They had already gone through a number of tombstones before Rin decided to speak again.

"Don't ignore me!" Rin exclaimed. "I asked you to lead me to Yukio, not to some unknown graveyard in the city! Don't tell me he's here. He's just resting — or are you telling me he decided to rest from his exorcist duties and become a graveyard keeper instead?! That genius of a brother of mine won't do something so stupid."

Suddenly, Bon slowed and came to a stop. Rin bumped into him while the older man turned towards a white tombstone that was chipped by time and weathered by the rain. Rin followed his gaze and read one of the names on the tombstones first.

Rin knew instantly where he was. He immediately felt that he had already stood in front of tombstone before. He could even hear the sound and feel the coldness of rain falling upon him when he first stood before ir. Suddenly, he felt his heart constrict and cloudy, just like the dark sky that brought forth the downpour during that nostalgic afternoon. A good father and an unforgettable leader...

Fujimoto Shiro — that was the name on the tombstone.

"Yes. Kamiki had worded it oddly... I agree with what you said that Okumura-sensei should really 'rest' from too much work though not like this," Suguro suddenly said. He was looking at the tombstone to the right of Fujimoto Shiro's. And Rin was surprised to find that the frown on the older man's face had eased. "He was the youngest teacher in the academy — the youngest exorcist, even. No one has beaten his record yet. He was younger than you and me, but he worked more than any of us did. And finally, he was given a rest... around ten years ago."

"What are you...?" Rin was confused. He also stared at the tombstone that Bon was looking at.

It looked newer than that of Fujimoto Shiro's. Rin immediately noticed that he had the same birthday with the guy buried there, who died about ten years ago. It was nothing fancy, just a simple stone that represented a life long gone and could never be brought back.

And then Rin's eyes widened as he read the name. He thought an icy hand passed through his insides as he stood before that simple tombstone. He felt the rush of blood from his head and he was sure his face was paler than it usually was. He could hear the suddenly loud drumming of his heart as he swayed on his feet, already dizzy with surprise.

He almost fainted as he reread and reread the name on the tombstone.

Okumura Yukio — _'A great teacher and a good friend.'_

"No, you're lying..." he managed to whisper, taking a step backward from the stone. His head was spinning. He was feeling nauseous. "Yukio is..."

"...dead," Bon continued for him. He was still looking at the grave before them. "He was... killed ten years ago."

"But that's impossible!" Rin grabbed Suguro's shoulders. "He can't... He's strong! A-And he's my baby brother — I'm the older brother who's supposed to protect him so... It's freakin' impossible for him to be dead!"

Bon blinked.

He has watched when Rin finally showed up after disappearing less than a decade ago. They were still students during Rin's disappearance, and it was the start of a week. Moriyama Shiemi was the last one who saw him. She kept on saying that Yukio was dead and Rin was...

The last place Shiemi had found the twins was wrapped in blue flames. The flustered girl had reported about the place and the higher-ranked exorcists rushed to the place to find Mephisto Pheles there, quenching the flames with holy water from a gigantic teapot. He had neither mirth or grim on his face. And he finally announced that Okumura Yukio was indeed dead, as shown by his tattered exorcist coat in the sea of blue flames while Okumura Rin was...

Rin had disappeared. And now, ten years later, he reappeared as a really powerful demon who suddenly was replaced by his ten-years-younger self. Of course, he didn't even know that Yukio was dead.

"He was killed?" Rin asked, his voice shaking. His whole body was shaking even as he tried to control himself. "You said Yukio was... _killed_... ten years ago?"

"Yes," Bon replied silently. He watched Rin who stared at the ground darkly, gritting his teeth in rage. Bon was starting to regret that he decided to show this to Rin. But what was done had already been done.

"Then,..." Rin looked up at Bon. His eyes were blazing with barely held-back angry blue flames. A thin sheet of fire glistened upon Rin's body. "Who was it? Who killed my brother?"

Bon almost stepped back in fear. Rin was really angry right now. Despite seeing this small form from ten years back, he could not deny the fact that the half-demon scared him.

"Who is it!?" Rin yelled. His tail lashed behind him, sending a powerful wave of flames that pulverized most of the tombstones behind him. "Answer me! Who killed Yukio?"

Despite the fear, Bon stepped forward.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Rin was slightly surprise at the brave gesture. "Yes, tell me—!"

"What will you do if you know who that person is?" Bon interrupted. "Are you ready to face the consequences?"

"Yes! Why do you have to ask all of this?" Rin answered immediately. "Do I know the person who killed my brother?"

Bon sighed. "I volunteered to tell you about your brother's death. But I have no intentions of telling you who the killer is..."

"Dammit, Bon!" Rin yelled. "I don't care about your case! Just tell me who the freakin' person is!"

"Okumura, you should understand that—" Bon started saying when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Excusing himself, he answer the call while Rin stood in front of the tombstone and stared hard on it.

_Yukio was..._ No, Rin didn't want to think about it. It didn't happen. Nothing had happened yet. The Okumura Yukio of the present was still alive. Yukio was...

"The exorcists are still planning to catch you," Bon suddenly said, raising his phone a bit. It appeared that Rin's mind drifted for a while and he hadn't noticed that Bon had finished with his call. "The call was to mobilize exorcists for the immediate capture of the prince of Gehenna. You have to hide now."

Rin deepened his frown. "I thought you're a Lower First Class exorcist and I'm the cruel son of Satan? Why are you letting me go?"

But Bon just smiled and jabbed Rin's shoulder a little bit harder than he intended. And then he turned and ran, yelling, "How long will it take you to realize that I'm an exorcist who's on your side?"

Rin rubbed the sore spot that Bon had hit as he looked at the running man. He had to admit that he had to smile on that.

* * *

The sun was rising like it would any other day. Slowly, the sky would turn from dark to lighter blue, with the white adorning the beautiful hue. The birds would start to sing while other sounds of nature would join the chorus. There was the coldness from the night before, but there was also the warmth from the faint light of the barely risen sun. More colors would appear: green, yellow, red.

Gradually, the day would open like how a delicate flower with numerous petals would.

Moriyama Shiemi breathed in the scent of nature she truly loved. She was in her usual place — that vacant lot behind an old dormitory — and she was in her old short-sleeved kimono tied so that she could proceed with her gardening.

She ran her eyes on the small patch of flower-filled soil before her as she sat. They were white roses, carefully grown and tended since Shiemi decided that that place would be her secret garden. No one had lived in the dormitory for several years. And the dormitory was quite far from any of the other buildings in True Cross Academy so she had the place to herself.

The garden looked better than it did less that ten years ago. From badly burnt ground, she transformed the barren patch into a haven for the white roses and other flowers. There were tulips, orchids, jasmines and many more as Shiemi added more into her collection. They were of many colors too, all well taken care of.

Yet the blue was only seen in the sky. Shiemi didn't plant any of the said color for it reminded her of the flames that destroyed that place years ago.

Still, what Shiemi cherished the most were those white roses. After all, her small garden started from them. She found them blooming so gracefully in the place she once hated the most, just a few weeks after the day that changed her life.

She leaned down to smell the sweet scent of the said flower and smiled.

"I said I wouldn't stop coming..." she whispered. "... and I would never forget."

She pulled some weeds and watered the soil. She took her time, praising the beauty of the white roses and whispering sweet remarks. She started telling how her day went as well, expressing her emotions better compared to the times when she would be in front of other people.

Suddenly, she went quiet and began shaking. Tears fall from her eyes as she rested her forehead on the clear ground in front of the white roses.

"I really miss you..."

And she cried uncontrollably, as she would any other day.

* * *

Okay, Rin had to admit he was fooled easily. Not that Bon had planned it and left without noticing, or he had really had it that way; Rin didn't really care. What he knew was Bon didn't tell him the name of Yukio's killer. Not even a letter or a clue.

Still, somewhere inside Rin refused to believe that Yukio was dead. His brother was too much of a genius. Yukio wouldn't be fooled easily. Yukio was strong; he could finish magazines after magazines when shooting demons. Rin remembered that time when Yukio had a showdown with Shura in shooting/slashing balls coming at inhuman speed. He saw before his very eyes how great his little brother was.

Now, that Four-Eyes was gone. Ten years ago, his brother will be killed by a person who Rin had no idea of.

Rin had travelled ten years into the future. He was ten years in the future, and Yukio died around ten years ago. That meant that his brother will soon die... in the present where Rin was supposed to be in.

"Just who the hell is that bastard?!" Rin yelled. He was running away from the cemetery for a while to hide as Bon had told him to. He had enough at looking at the damned tombstones of his beloved family: his father on the left while his brother on the right.

What the hell was he doing ten years ago? Why can't he protect the only family he had left?

Rin ran and ran. He noticed that he had been running for a long time now and the land was surrounded by trees. His path was going upwards through a thinning forest. Everything seemed unfamiliar until he came to a clearing.

His dormitory, the old residence for boys where he and Yukio stayed, came into view. He was in front of the large building and he could immediately see that it was as rundown as ever. There were boarded windows while some sills were falling. Old antlines created a pattern of soil and dirt on the formerly pure white walls. Weeds were growing uncontrollably around and insects made their own houses everywhere.

Rin opened the door and took a careful step inside. Cobwebs met his face, making him flail around. Before he knew it, he was heading for the kitchen that he loved so much.

It felt nostalgic. It had barely been a day since he parted from his kitchen but he already missed it, especially because of the scene that greeted him.

There were the cobwebs. The sink was dirty. There was a broken plate just beside a foot of the table while a soiled cloth was on a heap in the corner. Everything was really dusty. After all, it had already been ten years since someone lived in the dormitory.

And then Rin heard it. First, he thought that it was merely his imagination. But as he listened intently, he was sure that there was someone crying.

There was someone else in the dorm. He looked around, placing where the sound was coming from. He wondered why there would be anyone in an abandoned dormitory high up on a hill. An intruder or a demon crossed his mind, but decided against impression as he heard:

"I really miss you..."

It was a woman. Somehow, Rin thought it was a familiar voice, but he wasn't sure who it was. Following the direction of the cries, he found himself before the door leading to the clear patch of land at the back of the dormitory.

The voice was just beyond the door. Rin hesitated and hesitated, but eventually, he opened the door. The door opened wide in a loud creak as the years had rusted its hinges.

A lovely garden greeted his sight. There were an assortment of beautiful flowers in every color imaginable. It surprised Rin since the land behind the dormitory used to be a boring weedy area. But in a matter of a decade, it had transformed into something so pretty and colorful.

Still, he noticed that there was something missing.

Rin shrugged. He knew nothing in gardening as opposed to the numerous things he knew in cooking, so how would he know if there was something missing in someone else's garden? All he had to do was stand there and enjoy the beauty he sees.

He scanned the flowers and plants with his eyes and instantly knew that they were well-taken care of. Very seldom would he see a bite of an insect on a leaf. The fertilizer was also placed properly on the flowerbed. He knew this since he had placed the smelly manure on some plants himself, just as when he met a certain girl for the first time.

And just as he first saw the girl he instantly cherished, he saw her. A woman sat there surrounded by flowers, staring back at him in surprise. She had just straightened up from her bending on the ground and she had been wearing a long colorful flower-patterned kimono so Rin hadn't notice her. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, her long light-colored hair sticking on the streaks on her face. Her forehead had smudges of soil that she didn't notice. Her green eyes were wide, taking in the sight of a boy setting a foot on her beloved garden.

Rin was about to call to her. He was ready to smile for her. But her expression changed. From surprise in her eyes, her eyes narrowed. Her eyebrows were brought down by sudden anger while her hands clenched. She changed her surprise into loathing, like the boy in front of her has no permission to go into her field of vision or she would explode.

"Y-You—"

She gritted her teeth. The wrath in her eyes were fires that had no intentions of being quenched. She was shaking — Rin noticed — just as Arthur August Angel had shaken in anger earlier.

It was like he did something unforgivable. It was like everything was his fault. It was like, because of him, nothing turned out right.

He wanted to call her, just to ask what was wrong. What did he do? What in the world happened for him to deserve this kind of treatment ten years into the future?

"Sh-Shie—?"

"_Murderer_..."

It was a faint voice. But Rin heard it as if it was whispered directly on his ears and he shivered as he realized that it was laced with so much anger he could not quite understand.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand, Shi—"

"Don't you dare say my name!" She yelled. She was crying again; Rin could instantly tell with the way her body shook. "You murderer!"

_'Murderer... traitor...'_ Rin thought. He didn't understand. What did he do in the past ten years? Why was there loathing in their eyes? Why did Shiemi and Arthur call him those words?

He wanted answers. And the visions that flashed before his eyes was what it took to get what he wanted.

**...**

_'Please calm down, Rin-sama...'_

_'Prince...'_

_'We're all your servants,...'_

**...**

_"The demons consider Okumura Rin as their master and would follow his command..."_

**...**

_"I will not allow a 'traitor' walk on my grounds."_

**...**

_Okumura Yukio — 'A great teacher and a good friend.'_

**...**

_"Answer me! Who killed Yukio?"_

_"Are you sure you want to know?"_

_"Yes, tell me—!"_

_"What will you do if you know who that person is? Are you ready to face the consequences?"_

**...**

_"One of you shall die... and that will be caused by the other."_

**...**

_"Murderer..."_

**...**

The last word echoed against his ears. Repeatedly, just like a corrupted mp3.

Rin could have died there and then. Like a puzzle, everything just fell in place and he understood. In the past decade, he had betrayed his friends by becoming a demon prince. And ten years ago, he killed his own younger twin brother.

* * *

**A/N:**

_"One of you shall die... and that will be caused by the other."_  
— from **Predicting Fate**, another fanfic of mine. That was when Rin and Yukio went to a fortune-teller and that was her prediction to them. It's because of that oneshot that I wrote this multi-chapter fic. :)


	6. An Exchange

**Written:** May 2, 2013 11:08PM - May 3, 2013 9:17AM

**Disclaimer:** I do not Blue Exorcist.

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[An Exchange]**

_Chapter Five_

* * *

— Setting: Ten Years Later —

Shiemi must have really hated blue. That was what Rin noticed as he stood there stupidly. Most of his thoughts had already flown from his head. Now, he stood there thinking of useless things, just like how he noticed that there wasn't a tinge of blue in Shiemi's flowers and garden.

It wasn't really wrong for her garden to be void of the said color. The sky was already full of it. Even his flames carried the color similar to that of the morning horizon, though more on the unearthly hue than the vast azure the sky possessed.

His eyes wandered again. Though already vague or hidden by flowers and plants, he could see some remnants of an old battle. There were scorched marks on both the dormitory walls and on the ground. A large tree was toppled on the side of the clearing.

Still, the flowers bloomed. The birds sang. Everything continued as if nothing happened.

It was just like any other day. The sun would rise to light and warm the earth. It had done so for the past ten years. Even after Yukio had gone. Even after Rin had murdered him in an unknown place, on an unknown time. On an unknown way and on an unknown reason, everything will just continue.

Okumura Yukio — _'A great teacher and a good friend'_

There wasn't a mention of being a genius. There wasn't a mention of being a kick-ass exorcist. After all, the exorcist and demon societies were supposed to be kept in secret. There shouldn't be a tombstone in a random cemetery stating that the one who rests there was some awesome demon-slaying dude.

But Rin hadn't noticed immediately. Unlike Shiro's _'a good father'_, there wasn't a mention of _'a good brother'_ on Yukio's tombstone. It wasn't because Yukio had been a bad sibling. It was simply because he had his own life taken by his own older twin brother.

_'Are you ready to face the consequences?'_ Bon had asked.

_'What consequences?'_ Rin thought. _'Just losing my brother is enough to lose my head...'_

But was it really him? It was clear that he betrayed True Cross by becoming a demon prince, but there was no indications that he really murdered his brother. He could have killed someone else... like Mephisto Pheles. Rin hadn't seen a sign of the clown, after all.

But Rin also had no idea what happened to Kiregakure Shura, Takara Nemu, Noriko Paku,... even Kuro. Or maybe he really killed the clown and cram school had to stop for a while. Perhaps that was the reason Arthur was upset. Since the after-school exorcism classes stopped, there had been no new exorcists for a while.

Rin's spirits were rising. It was possible that he killed someone else. It was still true that his brother was murdered by somebody. But it was also possible that Rin didn't kill Yukio.

Suddenly, Shiemi got to her feet. Rin had almost forgotten that she was still there as he was immersed in his thoughts.

"That day around ten years ago... you still haven't answered my question," she said slowly as she tried to form complete sentences in her overwhelming anger. She had always been the girl easily swayed by emotions. "Why did you attack Yuki-chan that day? Why did you kill him... w-why, Rin?!"

So that settled it. Rin indeed killed Yukio, as stated by this woman who could never bear to tell a lie.

The woman that he likes saw him kill the man that was his brother ten years ago. He liked her very much, but he also knew that she liked his brother. But he never hated his brother for it; he loved his brother so much to take notice of that tiny detail.

Or did he really love Yukio to the point that he was willing to let go of the woman he likes? Was that the cause? Was that small thing the reason for him to take Yukio's life? If so, then Rin realized that in the succeeding ten years of his life, he change into one greedy bastard.

He looked around, lost. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't breath properly. Was this how he lived after murdering Yukio?

Rin's eyes found Shiemi's. She was crying so hard that her face was swollen and her cheeks were red like tomatoes. She couldn't take it anymore so her legs moved. Before Rin could stop her, she had slipped a key in the nearby back door and rushed through the portal which carried her to wherever she wanted to be.

Rin had let her leave. Shiemi had carried the burden for ten years. He was sure that he would face the same burden the moment he returned to his proper time. The shock brought by the truth carried by the future almost made him forget that he still have to make his way home.

"I thought I'd find you here in the dormitory you shared with your beloved little brother~" exclaimed one particular happy voice. "And I was right!"

It took time for Rin to gather his thoughts again and look up at the source of the voice. "C-Clown...?"

The demon principal never changed. He had the same grin, the same clothes, the same way of falling from the sky while holding his umbrella.

Mephisto Pheles winked. "Do you want to have some tea?"

* * *

Rin sat there on one of the plush chairs in Mephisto's office, staring off space. His eyes seemed vacant, like they were looking at another place rather than on the beautiful set of teacups, teapot and plates on the table. Mephisto looked at him and laughed.

"What's so funny, clown?" Rin asked, shifting his eyes towards the man who created the sudden outburst.

"Nothing. I just thought you rather look... _similar_ as you did ten years ago," Mephisto said as he sipped his tea silently.

"Well, it's your fault I'm here!"

Mephisto looked geniunely surprised. "How so?"

"If I hadn't touched that stupid thing in your office, I shouldn't have — I shouldn't have gone here and learned that Yukio... that Yukio—!"

"Seals, talismans," Mephisto enumerated. "Spells, illusions..."

"Hey! What are you talking about?"

"That time mirror is in my office for safekeeping. It was created by someone who was... ah — in my custody, some years ago." Mephisto remembered that man who needed 'time' a very long time ago. He never expected that in those experiments, something potentially dangerous could be produced. "Anyway, the time mirror was sealed securely in that dark corner of my room. For more than a hundred years, no one else had touched it and known about it but me and its creator. And now, you. You even used it."

"Your seals might have been weakening," Rin said carelessly.

"Perhaps. Or maybe because my seals did nothing against your inquisitive mind," Mephisto said.

"Still, if not for your device—!"

"You're obviously looking for someone else to blame. But it's not the fault of the time mirror. Nor was it because of my seals, myself, or the one who created that mirror. It was because of _you_," Mephisto countered calmly. "Who went to my office and touched the mirror? Who asked around ten years in the future, looking for truth in every corner? You have no suspects but yourself."

Rin sat there silently, staring at his feet. Mephisto was right: he was the very same reason why he knew everything before anything had happened in his own time.

"But that's not what I want to talk about over tea~" Mephisto said, picking up a cookie.

"Then what d'you want?"

"I understand your angsty attitude right now, so I'll extend my patience." Mephisto pouted. He realized that his ten-year-younger self should work on Rin's etiquette. "I want to talk about the time mirror."

"You said it's innocent regarding my problem," Rin followed, sarcastic. "Then I have no interests in that thing."

"Oh really?" Mephisto refilled his own cup. Rin's cup remained full on the table, now cold. "Well then, let me tell you something that will surely catch your attention...

The time mirror is created by one of the greatest inventors of all time. He made a lead on creating it purely by accident, but he devoted all his time, ideas, money and strength just to complete it. He finished it after a very long time, just before the moment he got bored with his life. He gave it to me as he lay alone on his deathbed, entrusting the thing that had been his life to me.

So I kept the time mirror with me years and years after his death. No one had touched it except him and me. Of course, nobody else had used it."

"I was the first user of that... that time mirror thing?"

"Not really." Mephisto took another sip of tea. "The creator used it from time to time to ensure that it was working properly."

"So what's that got to do with me? It doesn't really matter if I'm the first outsider who used it, right?"

"Yes. But the way it works is what you may call... your _additional_ problem."

Rin raised his eyebrow at Mephisto, asking an unvoiced question.

"The time mirror was created in such a way that two different user selves will be exchanged in the set time span," Mephisto continued. "For example, in your case, the present you and the ten-year-older you were exchange when you asked the time mirror to stop on the tenth count."

Rin's eyes were spinning. "I don't really understand. What are we talking about... again? Why could it be my problem?"

Mephisto sighed. "The curious little you used the time mirror to come to this time, ten years from your present. In here, you learned that ten-year-older you had betrayed True Cross and your friends. Am I right?"

Rin nodded, frowning with irritation.

"While you're here in the time ten years from your present, the ten-year-older you — _the demon you_, the you who's supposed to be in this time — is occupying your place in your present."

"You mean the older me time-travelled ten years _back_ to the past, taking my place?"

"Yes, you got it." Mephisto said happily. So he can explain things that even Rin can understand! "So now, with you here, the older Okumura Rin is in the past. And _that_ older Okumura Rin is the one who _betrayed_ your friends. The older Okumura Rin is the _traitor_."

"I get it! I understand!" Rin slammed his palms on the top of the tea table. "You don't have to say it repeatedly!"

Mephisto narrowed his eyes. "You still don't understand." It wasn't a question.

"What do I have to understand?!"

"The older demon Okumura Rin is in ten years back from now," Mephisto said carefully. "And at the same time, ten years ago, your younger brother Okumura Yukio died — no, was _murdered_ by his very own older twin brother Okumura Rin."

And then it dawned on Rin. He visibly froze, eyes widening.

"W-What...?"

Mephisto smiled. "Yes. I think now you understand."

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

Yukio sighed. He held the folder — a new folder, he should add. When he was pulled into the mission some hour ago, he still hadn't given his report to Mephisto Pheles. He placed his folder safely in the van that took them to the deserted ghost town. The odd empty town had all its doors in there broken by the demons, thus portal keys were useless.

Of course, the demons were heated up when they saw the exorcists and a fight broke out. And one very stupid demon set an attack towards their van, breaking the window glasses and letting some foul black liquid in. After the fight, the exorcists managed to clean off the smell inside the van but the stain never went away.

Unfortunately, the folder and its contents didn't escape the black demon liquid. On the other hand, the demon who messed the van received a very painful death from a specific fuming gun-weilding exorcist.

So Yukio had to get a new clean folder and reprinted all the pages of his report. After doing so, he made his way to Mephisto Pheles's office to finally submit the papers. He sure do hope that no other exorcists approach him offering another mission. He was really tired. He hadn't slept or eaten lunch yet.

Yukio knocked politely on the large door of the school principal office before opening the said door, just like what he did every time he would submit his reports. The sun was already setting, casting its bright afternoon glow upon the room. Yukio immediately saw that there was someone standing in the middle of the room. But all he could see was a silhouette, since the sun was shining through the large window opposite where he stood.

"Sir...?"

The figure slowly turned towards him. The person there was tall, perhaps taller than Yukio was now. He was dark clad: a black overcoat and heavy dark boots. A sword was on his back, which was all too familiar.

Yukio shielded his eyes from the assault of the bright sunlight. He saw that messy dark hair, those beautiful blue eyes...

"N-Niisan?"

But the older brother who stood there seemed older and paler.

"Yukio... Okumura Yukio." The deep voice seemed to echo though the room. There was a that wide grin, but Yukio thought it was all too _different_.

Okumura Rin stepped towards him.

"We finally meet again."

* * *

**A/N:**

I don't really know the old guy talking to Mephisto in the last episode of the anime. He's suppose to be the 'someone' in Mephisto's custody. Let's just assume that the guy was some old inventor who need a lot of time to finished whatever he was working on in his laboratory. The thing he was working on was the time-mirror (in this fic,anyway). Since he's already old, he asked Mephisto Pheles for 'more' time. It was never elaborated in the anime, so I put up here whatever I need for the plot. If you have violent reactions, please don't kill me. :D

Anyway, how's the story so far? :) Reviews are appreciated.


	7. A Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** Ao no Exorcist belongs to its respective owner/s.

**Written:** May 03, 2013 9:18am (first part, before the title)  
**Written:** January 20, 2013 - January 24, 2013 5:57AM (second part)

**Warnings:** OC! OOC!

* * *

— Setting: Ten Years Later —

"W-What...?"

Rin thought his world just fell apart. Completely.

Mephisto smiled. "Yes. I think now you understand."

Rin indeed understood. But his mind refused to process the idea. If the demon traitor that he will be time-travelled back to the past, then his baby brother is in great danger.

"Are you saying... that the older me..." Rin shook uncontrollably. But he really wanted to ask that question and all that came out were stutters. "... the o-older me killed...?"

Mephisto brought his palms together gleefully. "But that's just a possibility, you know? I'm not saying that that's what really happened. I could just be messing with you, expecially this time when your mind is in so much disarray after knowing that the murderer of your brother and the traitor of True Cross is no one else but you~"

"Then what am I still doing in here?!" Rin yelled. "Hurry up! I should go back in my time... and then, probably that demon won't have the chance to..."

Rin placed his face on his palms. No, he shouldn't blame the mirror nor Mephisto nor the old guy who created the mirror. It was he himself who time-travelled into the future and caused his brother to be put in danger.

"Well, there's a bit of a problem..." Mephisto started saying.

Rin looked up. "What's the problem?"

He can't have problems now. Every moment counts. If for some reason, the time mirror doesn't work or if he had to get the said device from the cave inhabited by some fearsome monster, Rin would immediately do it whatever the cost.

"We have to get your sword. And everything you brought from the past, just to be safe," Mephisto said.

Rin suddenly remembered that he hadn't held Kurikara since that morning.

"Maybe the exorcists who caught me have it," Rin suggested. It was all too troublesome. He had to go all lengths to get his sword, unarmed.

"No, I have it here. I sneak— got it earlier." With that, Mephisto snapped his fingers. A puff of pink smoke brought the Kurikara into view. "The next thing is the location of the time mirror..."

Rin grabbed the sword as he prepared himself about the news. He was sure that the mirror was in some hidden monster cave and he had to go through hardships to get it. At least he had his sword back so he can fight.

"... which is the corner of the adjacent room. Other that those, you're all ready to go."

"And that's the PROBLEM?!"

"Fortunately, all is solved now. Right?"

Rin gritted his teeth. Everything seemed so easy.

But no. Nothing was simple. He didn't how to face the past when Yukio was indeed... already—

"All you have to do is touch the mirror," Mephisto assured. "And then, you'll be back to the time where you came from, Okumura Rin."

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

Finally, he was back.

Everything had gone so uneventfully. He merely followed what Mephisto said: he touched the time mirror and he was back to the present.

He was finally in his own time.

It was morning. Oddly, he was in his room, lying on his own bed.

Perhaps he had only been dreaming. Just like in stories in manga or anime (or fanfictions, he should add), he was having a nightmare that he had killed his brother. But when he wakes up, he'll find out that all is well and everything was nothing but a dream.

So he lay there, watching the ceiling. It was supposed to be cool in the morning but he was feeling warm. The sunlight was seeping through the edges of the curtains, calling his consciousness awake. Birds chirped by the window like they were singing to each other. Everything might turn out right, after all.

He turned to his side to get more sleep when he opened his eyes wide in surprise instead. Yukio lay just beside him, sleeping peacefully.

Rin blinked as a smile made its way on his lips. Recently, with the school and cram school activities, the two of them had less time to spend together. Add Yukio's missions, which made Rin stay with Kuro alone more often than his brother.

And to add the fact that his older self had been sleeping beside his brother. If his time-travelling experience had been true, then his older demon self must have done nothing wrong to his younger brother. They even slept next to each other and nothing bad happened.

'There's nothing to be worried about...' Rin thought, watching Yukio breath evenly in his sleep. 'Nothing to fear... Yukio's still alive. All I have to do now is to protect him so that "that future" will never happen.'

The sudden beeping of the clock on the bedside table interrupted his mussings. Yukio jolted awake and stared back at Rin, who blushed as he was caught watching.

"Niisan...?" Yukio said, narrowing his eyes to see better. He smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Rin said. "Had a good sleep?"

"Yeah." Yukio reached for the clock, stopped the alarm and picked up his eyeglasses. He stood up from bed, made his way towards his cabinet and took his towel and some clothes. "We better get ready for school."

"Ah, o-okay." Rin waved his left hand as he sat up. "You can use the bathroom first."

Yukio raised his eyebrows. "Is there something wrong? You look pale..."

"E-Er, nothing's wrong," Rin said, shifting under the blankets. "Go on. I'll prepare some breakfast as I wait for my turn in the bathroom."

"Okay," Yukio answered uncertainly. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah..."

"Well, I'll be going then."

Rin watched as his brother left the room, making sure that Yukio had already closed the door before moving. He raised his hand to his face, frowning as he saw the long cut in the middle of his right palm. Blood started dribbling down from the new wound. Using his other hand, he pulled the blanket off himself. Something glinting greeted him.

A knife lay on the bed. Its sharp edge was red with his blood.

The boy stared at the metal. It was a kitchen knife, the one he usually uses in his kitchen. He felt it bite on his palm when he sat up. He had coincidentally leaned his hand on the same place where the knife lay and had himself wounded.

What was that knife doing in the middle of his bed?

_'Murderer...'_

_'The older demon Okumura Rin is in ten years back from now. And at the same time, ten years ago, your younger brother Okumura Yukio died — no, was _murdered_ by his very own older twin brother Okumura Rin.'_

But that was just a dream, right? Perhaps not, since the older demon Rin had been trying to kill his younger brother with this kitchen knife. By returning as soon as he could, the present Rin could have possibly stopped the murder.

Rin picked the knife up. He stared at the blue eyes reflected there as he asked himself, _'Is Yukio really safe from me?'_

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Nightmare]**

_Chapter Six_

* * *

— Setting: Present Time, Several Days Later —

Yukio knew that his brother was avoiding him.

The younger twin thought back at what he did the past few days. All he knew was that his Niisan had failed his quizzes the day before, broke a pair of his glasses the day before yesterday, tore several pages of his books the day before the day before yesterday, messed up their bento the day before the day before the day before yesterday...

Yes, his Niisan continued with his usual clumsiness over his demonic strength and body. Even the flames training was slightly messing up, according to Shura.

He sighed, sitting silently at his History class. He was on leave in his Exorcist duties and cram school teaching because his wrists were broken. It was nothing serious. His bones were starting to mend themselves properly though slowly during the days after he acquired the said wounds. Still, he can't write or eat or hold anything properly, much less firing one of his guns.

He got his wrists broken around five days ago. And oddly, he didn't know why and how they got broken. All he knew was that in those five days, his brother was ignoring him — but not totally. His brother still helped him eat and do stuff during the times his wrists hurt too much. Yukio tried to talk to Rin during those times too, but was only met with silence or half-hearted answers.

Yukio was suppose to be excused from his classes too. But he convinced Mephisto Pheles and other teachers that he can still sit to listen. So there he was in his History class, taking down notes on his mobile because he still can't write properly with a pen.

Still he was distracted. He kept looking at his brother sitting beside him. Rin was surprisingly wide-awake but was spacing out, tapping his pen absently on his open, doodle-filled notebook. Yukio continued to stare and the tapping stopped. Rin dropped his pen on the desk and suddenly stood up.

"... and the imperialists — Okumura! Where are you going?" the teacher asked, seeing his student standing up in the middle of the lecture and was clearly proceeding to the door. The other students also turned to the dark-haired teen.

"..." Rin stood silently for a while, his face showing effort as he pulled himself out of his thoughts. "Toilet."

* * *

"So whazza matter?" Shura asked as Rin sat there with his candles. Blue flames were flickering at the tips of two of the candles perfectly. "I heard yer avoidin' Scaredy Four-Eyes."

Rin was caught surprised by her sudden question. But rather than the candles turning to white puddles of wax, the flames shook and disappeared completely.

"It's none of your business," Rin said, scooping up the candles and throwing them in the trash bin.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Shura said, messing Rin's hair with a hand. "It's just that yah aren't cold to just yer brother. Yah're cold to anybody!"

"I said it's none of your damn business!" Rin yelled, his eyes glinting bright blue for a slight moment. Shura instinctively backed away with a hand to her chest, ready to summon her sword. But Rin just turned around and picked up his bag and sword as he prepared to leave.

"Hey Rin!" Shura yelled. "If there's a problem, yer don't have to keep it all bottled inside. Yer can rely on us too."

Rin stopped at his tracks, thinking. He still had his head down, his grip on Kurikara and the strap of his bag tightening.

"I don't..." he began.

Shura tsked, placing her hand on her waist. "Speak louder, will yah? I can't hear if yer whispering that far away!"

Rin turned on his heels. Shura was surprised that her student can look that confused, scared and hopeless — all at the same time.

"I don't know what I should do," the half-demon child said.

_Yukio sat beneath the tree, eating his bento slowly and silently. His brother didn't return from his toilet escapade and he was left alone to eat._

Shura looked surprised as she tried to take in what Rin was telling her. She thought she would freeze in her current place after hearing the story of the younger boy.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Shura said, raising her hands with her palms facing Rin. She was frowning, having trouble to believe what she was hearing. "Yu... Yukio — what?!"

_Yukio chewed silently as he swept a gaze across the lawn. The other students were enjoying the short lunch break to their fullest: chatting, throwing things to each other, lying on their backs on the grass..._

Rin took a deep breath. He knew that it was hard to believe that his brother would do anything like that. Anyone would feel the same; he had trouble thinking about it too and was about to pass what happened as a dream had he not saw the darkened marks on his neck the next day after it happened.

He sighed, looking at Shura straight to the eyes with his own cerulean ones. He knew that if he did so, Shura would be convinced that he was telling the truth.

"Yukio tried to kill me," Rin said. "He had been possessed when he did so."

* * *

The room was dark with the dawn. The coldness hang silently on the still air.

But Rin was awake. He stared at the ceiling, thinking of nothing in particular. He tried to go back to sleep but his eyes kept themselves open. He felt like he was waiting for something, for that something to stop watching and face him like a man. For about two hours he lay there silently. And then he heard rustlings of his younger brother from the other side of the room, but he paid it no heed. Rin just closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

Suddenly, the side of his bed dipped. Someone sat close to him, making him feel a strong gaze running over him. This made him to open his eyes and see those lightning blue ones staring down on him.

A small sad smile rested on Yukio's pale face as he sat at the edge of his brother's bed. His brown hair was slightly ruffled from sleep. He didn't have his glasses on and Rin can see his eyes directly looking down at him.

And those eyes were unearthly, luminous blue even in the darkness of the room. The pupils were large like a cat's. The lonely smile was on his lips and it showed in his eyes.

"Good morning." The voice was Yukio's. Yet somehow Rin knew that it wasn't his brother who was speaking.

"Who are you?" Rin asked. He tried to sit up but Yukio's hand rested on his chest, stopping him. Still, Rin made a grab for Kurikara, which leaned readily on the side of his bed.

"Your name is Okumura Rin, right?" Yukio — or whoever the one in front of him — stated. It stared at Rin's eyes before casting a brief glance at the Kurikara. "A son of a demon with a blessed sword..."

Rin's eyes widened. "What...?"

"I can see that you're confused..." the other boy said, positioning himself above the older boy. He pushed his brother against the bed while looming in all-fours over Rin. "It's been quite a long time since I visited Assiah. After all, it's very difficult to look for a perfect vessel for someone like me."

"Just who the hell are you?!" Rin yelled, raising his hands to pull out Kurikara from its sheath. But the younger boy just smiled. It was Yukio smiling, making Rin stop whatever he planned to do.

"Can you really hurt your younger brother?" the brown-haired boy said, touching Rin's face with a gentle hand. He traced a finger on that pale flesh, and Rin felt goosebumps erupt along his arms. "Can you kill me along with your brother?"

"Shut up!" screamed Rin. He tried to push Yukio away but the younger boy didn't even budge.

"You mentioned 'hell' earlier... I'm not even from that place." Yukio chuckled uncharacteristically. And then he suddenly looked serious. "I have my mission, and that is to rid evil from this world. With this body, I can pretend to be an exorcist and freely live in Assiah. And no one will notice a thing."

The possessed boy wrapped his hands around Rin's neck and squeezed, choking the boy beneath him. "See? Even though I'm going to kill you right now, you're not doing anything to stop me because what you see fools you."

"Let g-go... of Yukio..." Rin managed to say, letting go of his sword to hold on Yukio's wrists. "L-Let go of my b-brother, dammit!"

"I have to kill you," the boy continued, as if he hadn't heard Rin's words. "You carry the blood of the devil."

"Stop it!" Rin gripped tightly on the wrists as he ran out of breath. The boy above him whimpered at the pain that shot up from his arms. This was accompanied by the sound of breaking, which startled Rin. It was Yukio who was hurt, who cried from the inhuman pressure from his demon brother.

Yukio pulled his arms free from the sudden lax grip of the older boy.

"There'll come a time when I'll kill you," the younger boy whispered directly to Rin's ear. He didn't feel any pain as he placed his arms around the neck of the older brother. "I'll be watching you, spawn of Satan."

Those bright blue eyes blinked once to be replaced by turquoise eyes, surprised and confused.

"Ow!" Yukio exclaimed as he felt his broken wrists.

"Yukio?" Rin asked. "Is that you?"

The said boy raised his eyebrows. "Of course, Niisan." He tried to sit up again but failed. His arms were trapped under his brother's body as he hugged the older boy awkwardly around the neck while lying on top of his brother. "Wait, what am I doing on your bed?"

But Rin didn't answer him. The older boy just lay there, unaffected by the weight of the other boy over him. After all, even if the younger of the twins was larger in built, the older of them was still demonically stronger and fitter than the human.

"Hey, Niisan?" Yukio asked.

"Yeah?"

"Is there something wrong?"

Yukio knew there was that odd thing hanging on the air around his brother. By now, Rin should be teasing Yukio for this awkward position they were in. But he was uncharacteristically silent, staring up the ceiling, while Yukio had no choice but have his face on the sheets of the bed. The younger boy couldn't prop himself up because of the pain on his wrists, which had oddly got broken during the course of the night. Yukio couldn't remember them broken before he went to sleep the night before.

He waited patiently for Rin to answer his previous question. But all Rin did was pull him into a closer hug while burying his face on the shoulder of the younger (and Yukio's face deeper into the bedsheets).

"No, nothing's wrong..." was the reply.

Clearly, Yukio knew by Rin's answer and gesture that there was something out of place. His night shirt grew wet and he thought it was Rin's drool at first. But the slight shaking of the older boy told him otherwise.

"Is it a nightmare?" he asked, biting back the pain from the uncomfortable position his wrists had.

Rin emitted a soft chuckle. "Yeah, it was one hell of a nightmare..."

* * *

Shura frowned. "You're afraid," was what she said.

"Yes." Rin turned from her, looking down at the sword held on one hand. "That 'thing'... it wasn't Satan. It was something completely different, but it wanted to kill me. I'm afraid that there comes a time when I have to kill my brother when that 'thing' possesses him completely..."

"Then you'd rather be away from Scaredy Four-Eyes than be with him on his hardest times?!" she yelled angrily. "And here I thought you're becoming a man, Rin!"

"But what do you want me to do?" Rin held his sword close. He didn't scream or flail around. He just thought that his eyes felt too hot but he wouldn't let the tears fall. "'He' said that he'll be watching me... and doing so, he possessed my brother."

Finally, he whispered. "I don't want to lose any more of my family."

Yukio finally put the lid on his box of lunch again. Unlike the joyous atmosphere around him, he felt that his emotions were jumbled inside him. Here he was all alone while the rest of the world continues like he didn't even exist. Even his brother was ignoring him.

And then he cringed, feeling an unfamiliar heat rise from the deepest parts of his insides. He felt like his blood would boil, that his head would split...

"Okumura-sensei, is there something wrong?"

It was Bon with Shima and Konekomaru. Yukio looked up to see their worried faces above him. He realized that he was lying on the ground while clutching on the sides of his head, as if trying to keep it together. He tried to take a breath but it stopped short before it could reach his lungs. Painfully propping himself to a sitting position, he looked at the three with a forced smile.

"No, nothing's wrong..." he said. He noticed that his packed food became a mess on the ground so he tried to clean them up. While doing so, the lens of his glasses oddly cracked as if subjected to a high pressure.

And then the world turned blue.

* * *

**A/N:**

Yeah, cliffhangers. Sorry about that. I wrote this a few months ago and is merely proofreading it repeatedly.

Very long chapter. Immediate plot change. Not a single thing was explained. More problems for Rin. And that freakin' old problem about candles. :)

Thank you for reading and the reviews!

Apparently, the old man in the end of the anime was Johann Faust from a play "Faust" by Gothe. Thanks **_wildkurofang_** for the explanation! XD


	8. A Possessed

**Disclaimer:** Ao no Exorcist belongs to its respective owner/s.

**Written:** January 26, 2013 6PM - January 26, 2013 9:20PM

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Possessed]**

_Chapter Eight_

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

And then the world turned blue.

Yes, the world turned into that hue that Yukio began to hate so much. After all, it caused him fear and confusion, not to mention the searing hot pain bubbling inside him, threatening to overwhelm his mind and body with an undeniably powerful force.

He keeled over for the second time, barely registering the worried exclamations from his students and schoolmates. He forced himself to look up, smiling even as the pain bit into his insides as if eating him.

Yukio managed to pull himself to a standing position and faced the inquiring looks from the three students. He felt as if he was stabbed through the stomach with a fiery metal that slowly burned his flesh. He didn't need to look down to know that he looked completely fine except for the excessive sweat that lined his pale face.

"I'm... alright," he said with an apologetic smile to their worried faces. "Just a bit of... an upset stomach... I guess?"

"You should go to the infirmary then, young prof," Shima said.

Konekomaru smiled. "We can accompany you if you want, sir."

But Yukio just shook his head in response. He stood straight, perspiring even more as he felt as though his body was a whole lot hotter than his surroundings. He swallowed but his throat felt dry. The world began spinning and he started to feel nauseous.

"I-I can go alone," Yukio said, trying not to sound rude. With all the pain, he thought he should just run and hide somewhere until he felt better. "Well then, if you'll excuse me..."

He hurriedly put his boxed lunch (or what was left of it) into his bag and walked away unsteadily, holding on the tree for support, and then on the walls after he reached the hallway. The place was mostly deserted after the bell had rang, and Yukio felt thankful for the silence. He slid down the wall until he hit the ground, feeling the coldness of the tiles caressing his warm flushed skin.

"I'm alright..." he muttered to himself. He had to believe it. It was nothing. He was Yukio Okumura, a genius exorcist who can't be felled by a simple dizzy spell like this.

But Yukio knew deep inside that it was no less than a dizzy spell. It had happened before, though short and less painful.

_'Those are... not your eyes.'_

Yukio closed his eyes, willing the memory away. But the more he tried not to think about it, the more he remembered it. His blue-tinged vision... the way _'that man'_ looked at him with fear and surprise...

"Yukio?"

The said boy looked up. Rin stood there in the hallway with him, carrying his sword on one shoulder. He finally looked at his younger brother straight in the eyes after what seemed like months to Yukio. But that stare didn't last long enough; Rin shifted his gaze to a spot just beside Yukio's head.

"What are you doing there?" Rin asked, moving his gaze further away from the younger twin. "Hurry up and go to whatever class you gotta go or you're gonna be late."

Yukio looked at the face of his brother. Rin still looked the same, with his dark hair cut short and messily sticking out to many directions as if they haven't seen a comb in years. Those eyes were still tantalizingly blue, clear like a bright sapphire glinting under a harsh light. His skin looked healthy white, accentuating the color of his eyes and hair.

"Niisan..." Yukio said. "Look... at me..."

Rin's brow twitched. He... can't look at Yukio or he'd feel like his heart would be wrenched out of his chest. The boy before him was too important to lose. Rin couldn't hold him too close or that unknown entity would break him to pieces, just like the devil did to his father.

But the calling persisted. "Niisan..."

"Yukio, I—" Rin began, slowly turning his head to face his younger brother when all he saw was a cerulean blur as he was roughly shoved by the collar against the wall of the hallway. He thought he heard a slight cracking of concrete as he slammed against the wall. He closed his eyes at the pain, gritting his teeth as if trying to relieve the sharp pang running through his nerves.

"Satan's son!"

Those words made Rin open his eyes to stare at those neon blue eyes.

"You...!"

"I'll make sure I'll kill you this time." A frown rested on Yukio's face, a reaction that seemed to show regret on what was about to happen. Yukio's glasses were cracked as Rin also noticed the faint sheet of light blue flames licking Yukio's body. It singed the uniform slightly, filling Rin's nose with the burning smell and tearing up his eyes with the heat. "It is cruel to be killed by the hands of a loved one, but I have to free you from the curse of living in this world with Satan's blood and flames."

"Go away!" Rin yelled back. He tried to pry the hands that held him but he only made scratch marks on Yukio's skin that began to bleed uncontrollably. "Just get out of Yukio, NOW!"

But the other boy just continued to grip Rin's neck.

"Careful there," he said, forcing Rin further into the wall. The cracking they heard earlier was real as Rin saw several crumbled pieces of cement fall down to his feet. He bit on his lip at the pain and looked at those sad eyes that didn't belong to his brother. "You should think twice on harming this body while I possess it. The pressure my flames give it makes it twice or thrice more vulnerable. After leaving this body is a different matter though, since my regenerative abilities works on him."

"Go away then!"

Rin groaned, trying to gasp for more air. He could see and smell the blood slowly oozing out of Yukio's hand even though what Rin's nails caused were just small scratches. He pressed his fingers on the wounds, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Please, leave me and my brother alone..." he begged, letting tears fall from his eyes. He didn't know what else to do. If he fight, he might kill his brother; if he doesn't, the 'thing' would kill him. But he didn't want to lose Yukio, may it be to this 'thing' or to Rin's own death.

"Rin!" Suddenly, Shura was there, running towards the brothers from the other end of the hallway. But she almost stopped when she saw Yukio turn to her with the luminous eyes. Yukio simply blinked at her that made her confused before turning to the older boy.

Those unearthly blue eyes carried pity.

"All right, Okumura Rin," the one within Yukio said, loosening his hold. "Good bye... for now."

And then the possessor was gone when Yukio closed his eyes and fell on Rin, who caught him gently. The older boy wrapped his arms from beneath the arms of the other boy who had fainted completely.

"Yukio..." Rin called, sliding down the wall after his legs shake and collapse at the combined weight of him and his brother. But that wasn't all; he felt as if there was more pressure upon his shoulders than the actual weight of his brother over him as he realized more and more of his predicament. "It's you, right? It's you who's with me...?"

"Rin..." Shura said, watching the two brothers sitting on the floor.

* * *

Rin opened his eyes and saw the ceiling of his room. He immediately sat up, looking around.

"Relax," Shura said, sitting on a chair beside Yukio's bed. She had her arms crossed over her chest, looking at Rin with bored eyes. "You're in your room."

"Since when...?" the boy began to ask when his eyes fell on Yukio's sleeping figure.

Yukio lay on his bed opposite Rin's. He looked calm in his sleep, breathing in a rhythm that immediately caught the complete attention of his elder brother. The younger boy still wore his school uniform, the two buttons near the collar undone to loosen his shirt, while his shoes were removed to leave those white socks wrapped around his feet. His black school jacket hang on the wall neatly and his glasses were on the bedside table. The lenses were still cracked, proving that what happened earlier wasn't just Rin's dream or hallucination.

"You fainted after your encounter with that... spirit," Shura said slowly, watching Rin look at Yukio with relief. She took a bottle of water from Yukio's bedside table and drank before turning to Rin again.

"How long was I out?" Rin asked, directing his question to Shura but was still looking at Yukio.

"Five or six hours?" Shura said, consulting her watch. Rin spared a glance at the clock on the wall to read 5:56PM.

"How..." Rin hesitated, shuffling to sit on the edge of his bed and get a better look at his brother. "How's Yukio?"

Shura stared at the older Okumura. Rin looked odd as he tried to sit still. But his tail, which he let out of its coil around his torso, twitched uncomfortably at whatever thoughts bugged his mind.

"As you can see, he's still asleep," the woman replied, taking another sip of water. She returned the bottle on its place and stood up to squat in front of Rin. She levelled her eyes to the other boy's, staring straight into those clouded blue eyes.

Suddenly, Rin began to fluster. "W-What d'you want?"

But Shura just smiled. "Nothing," she replied.

"What?"

"You're still quite the same as the Rin I know," she continued, standing straight. "I thought that for a moment, you lose yourself to your inner thoughts and commit suicide afterwards. Seems like I was wrong."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rin asked.

"You still don't get it, don't you?" Shura poked Rin's forehead with an index finger, earning a yelp from the boy. "Just stay an older brother to Scaredy Four-Eyes — the usual one. Don't be afraid, or he'll just think that you're avoiding him. He doesn't know about the times when he's possessed, does he?"

"I don't think so. He mentioned nothing to me," Rin said as he shook his head, clutching on his forehead protectively.

"Spirits and demons overwhelm humans when they're weak," Shura explained.

"Yukio's not weak..."

"He is! He's currently having mixed feelings with how you're treating him," the woman said. "Stay with your brother and show him that you care. Let's see if he gets possessed again afterwards, so we can change our course of action."

Shura turned around and headed for the door. Rin just watched her leave.

"I'll let you off your training for a while. You can ditch school too," she said before she finally exited the door and closed it behind her.

Rin rubbed his forehead as he watched the door close.

"I really don't get it..."

* * *

Shura made sure that the door shut behind her completely before speaking.

"I did what you asked," she said in a low voice, standing still with her back leaning on the door. "Are you sure that it will all work out? We're dealing with a powerful spirit in this!"

The dog at her feet was silent for a moment before speaking, "It will work out, Kirigakure-sensei. Or would you rather tell the higher-ups about this situation?"

Shura gritted her teeth. The clown was right; if a word about this got out, the half-demon brothers would surely be in trouble. Rin would be caught for luring that specific entity to Assiah while Yukio would be experimented on because his body was the perfect vessel for a powerful spirit.

"Alright..." She sighed. She began thinking of why Shiro had allowed such dangerous children to live. But she also knew that Shiro, and Shura herself, didn't regret of taking care of such kids. With a small smile, she realized she couldn't imagine them disappearing in her life. "I'll leave it to you then. It's a bit surprising that you know about these things very well, though."

She walked away as the forest-green eyes of the dog followed her retreating figure. The dog also sighed, looking at the door like it could see through the wood to the room beyond.

"Siblings are really troublesome things to have..." it said before disappearing in a puff of pink smoke. He reappeared in his office, back to his human form, and sat on the chair before his magnificent oak desk. He looked over two neatly folded papers on top of his table, noting the blankness of any of the senders' name. He took one gingerly and unfolded it, reading through the thin handwriting in another language that he was very much familiar with.

His eyes widened with surprise, almost crumpling the paper as he finished. He placed it on his ashtray and it suddenly burst into blue flames that disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

"Indeed," Mephisto Pheles said, his expression indiscernable if from anger or mirth. "It's all so troublesome."

* * *

**A/N:**

And... cliffhanger!

Why am I laughing when I read this chapter? Too... emotional, I suppose. I had a hard time believing that I wrote it.

Reviews will be awesome! I want to know if this story make sense or not :)


	9. A Night Together

**Written:**  
**First part:** January 26, 2013 9:47PM  
**'A Few Days Later' part:** May 18, 2013 3:22 am

**Disclaimer:** Ao no Exorcist belongs to its respective owner/s.

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Night Together]**

_Chapter Eight_

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

Rin looked at the peaceful expression on Yukio's face. It felt serene. Even Rin's surroundings felt the same as the slight coldness of the night seep into their shared room. It was so comfortable that Rin was starting to think that he was home, like the feeling he would have while staying in the monastery with his father, Yukio and the other guys — eating, sleeping, playing together when he was younger.

Peace. There was no other word for it. It made him smile; it made him feel warm to his toes. It can almost make him laugh too, even if all he would hear was the silliest of jokes.

He extended a hand, wanting to pat Yukio's head gently like he would to make the younger fall asleep back when they were children. Heck, they weren't kids anymore, not to mention that Yukio is larger and taller than him. But Rin didn't care. He wanted to pat his brother, so he would pat his brother to sleep.

But then he remembered that smile disappearing. Bright blue eyes stare at Rin as if from far away, overwhelming him with the otherworldly heat. He was suddenly afraid, the peace he was feeling earlier shattering to a thousand indistingushable pieces.

"Peace...?" Rin muttered, retracting his hand. His face looked as if he was told something incredulous. "Don't joke with me..."

He felt empty. He watched his brother sleep, feeling like they were in two different worlds that weren't bound to meet. He almost wanted to cry again, the tears brimming at his eyes again as he began to sniff uncontrollably. He placed his hands on his own knees as he tried to support himself from the sudden shaking that came from deep inside him, threatening to break himself like those shards of peace that suddenly disappeared.

_'Spirits and demons overwhelm humans when they're weak.'_

The words of Shura resonated in Rin, making him stop shaking.

_'Stay with your brother and show him that you care.'_

A smile made its way to Rin's face. "Show him that I care, huh?" he softly said to himself. He wiped his eyes, believing that no tears should be shed for a problem that was as trivial as this. He shook his head off the negative thoughts and turned to face his brother again.

"Yukio..." he said, noticing that the younger boy had his eyes open. Suddenly, Rin didn't know what to do or to say. He let those eyes linger on him, enjoying the warmth in them.

But that instantly changed. Yukio also didn't speak. His gaze on his brother turned from the usual kindness to a sudden withdrawal. The warmth froze with a kind of coldness Rin knew nothing about, until Yukio finally looked away.

"Niisan," he said in a response more like a required polite answer to Rin's greeting. He looked at the ceiling, refusing to meet the gaze of his older brother.

_'...he's currently having mixed feelings with how you're treating him,' Shura had said to him earlier._

_'With the way I'm treating him...? But I'm only distancing myself from him so that in the future he won't—'_ Rin thoughts came to a stop. The smile melted from his face as he realized what he had been doing. He had been 'distancing' himself away from Yukio, from the little brother who needed his help now that his heart was confused that caused the possession of an unknown entity.

Rin should have realized it immediately.

_'Niisan... Look... at me...'_ Yukio had told him. But he didn't... all because he was afraid of what 'might' happen if he did.

Rin felt he was one very stupid older brother. He was so afraid to lose the one thing most important to him that he didn't notice that he began to lose everything.

"Yukio," Rin called again. When his younger brother didn't acknowledge his word, he called again. And again, and again, and again...

Finally, Yukio had had enough. He turned his head from his look at the ceiling, asking angrily, "What is it, Niisan?!"

But Rin just smiled, patting Yukio's head gently with one hand while holding on Yukio's arm with the other. He buried his face near Yukio's head, his hair tickling the nose of the other boy.

"I'm sorry..." Rin whispered. Yet Yukio heard it clearly. "Your Niisan... is just so stupid."

Yukio could see and feel that his brother was shaking slightly again. Reaching out his free arm, he rested his palm on Rin's head and ruffled the already messy dark hair. He was smiling too.

"I know..." Yukio replied. "I know, so stop crying."

A soft laugh. But Rin didn't look up so his voice came out muffled. "Who's crying, Four-Eyes?"

* * *

Rin peeled the bandages off Yukio's hand carefully. He could feel his hands shake as he pulled off the used medication from the hand of the younger. He was surprised with himself since his own hands weren't usually shaking because he was used to delicate chores like cooking. He didn't know that all those bandaging Yukio did when they were younger was this hard.

He noticed that Yukio was watching him with patience. But Rin didn't want his twin to wait too long.

"Just a little bit more..." Rin tried to assure, painstakingly removing the bandages. His face was centimeters away from Yukio's hand, narrowing his eyes in concentration. "... it'll be done soon."

Yukio just smiled. "I told you already that I can do it, Niisan."

"Shh! The patient should stay quiet and just watch," Rin reprimanded, removing the bandages completely. And then he scratched the back of his head, confused. "Hey, it's all healed up..."

Yukio looked at his wound too. "Yeah, I guess," he said slowly. For that much blood on the bandages, he was having a hard time believing that the wound he had disappeared after several hours of nice sleep. Heck, he almost can't believe that he indeed have a wound because all he can see on his hand was unbroken skin. He tried his wrists too. "And my wrists also healed. Amazing..."

Rin looked at his brother.

_'... since my regenerative abilities works on him.'_

So it was true. Because of that spirit, Yukio can heal almost as fast as Rin can. But it also got Rin thinking: if Yukio can heal from someone's regenerative abilities, then that means that that spirit is still...

Rin pulled Yukio by the shoulders, forcing the younger to look straight into his eyes. This caught Yukio by surprise and tried to pull himself away but Rin's grip was firm. Rin stared long and hard on Yukio's turquoise eyes, looking for any hint of the otherworldly neon blue. But all Rin saw was the almost green hue upon the other eyes, as well as that red dot that served as the pupil. The brothers both have it since they were born, startling anyone who looked long enough to their eyes.

"Niisan...?" Yukio asked slowly as he saw Rin sigh. "Is there something wrong?"

Rin grinned widely. "No, nothing's wrong."

The younger boy frowned slightly, which Rin noticed immediately. He wondered why Yukio would do so, thinking back at his reply.

"Don't worry, I won't ignore you again after this," Rin said, slapping Yukio by the shoulder. Yukio almost fell off the bed with the uncontrolled force from the older brother, but Rin righted him just in time.

"Really?" Yukio asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, really," Rin replied teasingly. He pulled on Yukio's cheeks, adding absently, "We'll be together forever."

Yukio pushed him away, smiling. "What are you, a kid? Forever's not possible."

"It is," Rin said. "I'll make sure of it."

* * *

— Setting: Present Time, A Few Days Later —

It had been three months since the Kyoto incident. That only meant one thing: the exorcist exams were approaching. And to Rin's chagrin, the exams will be next week.

"Any luck?" Shima asked, sitting beside the younger dark-haired boy as their snack break started. Rin just shrugged, resting his head on his desk. They were in their day classes but neither cared if any of their day classmates heard about the cram school.

"I've already asked Yukio a million times of what the exam is going to be," Rin said, glaring at the said twin who sat just beside him. "And all he tells me is what we already know."

"What?" Yukio took a bite of his sandwich. "I already told you that it's—"

Both boys frowned as they chorused, "A written and a practical exam."

"Dammit! I've had enough of your blabbering!" Bon said, banging his fist on top of Rin's desk. "If both of you are so worried about the test, then why don't you just start studying?!"

"It's not as simple as that..." Rin said. He hadn't flinched at all when Bon slammed his fist on his desk, his mind already saying that the hand of the other boy won't hit him. Or maybe he was just too lazy to move his head out of the way. "I'm not up for brain work..."

"Yeah." Shima shrugged as he settled back on his chair. "Studying is for brainiacs."

"You're all hopeless," Izumo chimed in. She looked at Rin and Shima. "Well, even if you both study, your pea of a brain won't remember a single bit about our lessons."

"Izumo-chan..." Paku chidded in a mellow tone. "That's rude."

Just beside the girls, Shiemi's eyes were spinning as she ran her eyes over her notes. She sighed as she set the book down. And then she brightened. "Why don't we have a group study tonight?"

"That's a great idea!" Konekomaru said. "It'll give a chance for those who already knows the lesson to review while they teach those who didn't understand the topic."

"Miwa-san is right," Yukio said. "I'll be one of those people who'll review those who doesn't understand."

"Really?" Rin asked excitedly. "Then you'll tell us some cheats—"

"I didn't say anything like that, Niisan."

"I-I'll go too," Shiemi said shyly. "I'll try my very hardest to understand your lessons, Yuki-chan."

Yukio smiled. "I'll try my best to teach you well."

All else around Rin, Shiemi and Yukio almost snickered as the older Okumura twin gritted his teeth in jealousy, the younger boy looked nervous while the girl blushed nervously albeit happily.

"Everybody should come, I suppose," Bon said. "It'll surely be an advantage if an experienced exorcist himself reviews us for the exam."

* * *

So finally they all had an agreement: Rin, Yukio, Shiemi, Bon, Izumo, Shima, Konekomaru, Takara and Shura were to meet in the Old Boy's dormitory at five in the afternoon. Yukio had asked Takara to join the group study and the brown-haired boy expectedly declined until Shura heard the conversation and dragged the puppeteer into the study session. Shura vounteered herself to come. Rin was cooking their snacks that could go well with her beer.

The review night started after the exorcists-in-training and two of their teachers settled on the floor with cushions and pillows in the dining area near the kitchen. Yukio began with a few notes while Shura threw in a couple of tips every once in a while. Bon and Izumo asked their questions as the others struggled to keep up with the review.

Rin chewed on his pillow while looking at his notes. "This isn't working..."

"Are you even listening?" Bon asked.

"I don't understand anything either," Shima said. "Can I sleep now?"

"The written exam will be on Thursday and the practical will be on next Friday!" Konekomaru said. "We've got less than six days to study."

"C'mon, it's a Friday night!" Shima said. "Can't a guy have some rest?"

"It's been an hour already, anyway," Yukio said kindly. He turned to Rin. "Niisan, can we have dinner then?"

"Sure!" Rin happily pried his eyes from his notes and ran to the kitchen, his tail high up in the air.

"I-I'll go help you, Rin," Shiemi said. "Let's go, Izumo-san."

"Eh?" Izumo managed as Shiemi pulled her to the kitchen.

Their dinner passed uneventfully. Some of the boys cleaned up the plates while the twins prepared futons and pillows for their guests to sleep on. The girls went to wash in the bathroom first. Kuro played with Shura.

"Finally, some sleep!" the oldest woman lay down on the first of the futons to be prepared. She just closed her eyes to rest despite the glare that the younger Okumura shot her.

"Hey, that's my bed!" Rin yelled before Yukio could get out any words to the woman.

"No, Okumura," Bon said, drying his hands on a hand towel. "We're not sleeping until we're ready for the exams."

"But I'm tired!"

"Do you want to pass the exorcist exams?" Izumo said, putting her hands on her waists. She was in light pink pajamas while Shiemi beside her wore green ones. Rin nodded weakly in answer to her question. "Then you should study hard!"

"But..." Rin frowned. "How can you say 'no sleep' when you're all ready for one?!"

"Don't worry, Rin," Shiemi said softly. "I'll be studying hard too."

Yukio yawned. "Well, I'll try to keep up until you understand even just one thing, Niisan..."

"Hey!"

The teens chose their own futon, settling down for more studying. Just a few minutes later, some of them were nodding off (specifically Rin and Shima) but a certain angry girl glared at them to keep them awake (which was Izumo). Bon mermorized about two-thirds of the assigned readings, but was still restless and kept his eyes open to memorize more. Shiemi asked Yukio about bits she couldn't understand, when Rin suddenly showed up as if to stand on guard.

"I'm going to get some water," Yukio suddenly said, leaving his brother with the blonde girl. Much to the delight and nervousness of the older boy, he and Shiemi continued their studies as Yukio ventured towards the kitchen.

_'Why'd you leave them alone like that?'_

Yukio choked on his glass of water, startled by the voice. But he had known the voice very well by now.

_'I thought you live in my head?'_ Yukio asked back. _'If so, you should have a look into my memories and know that that girl is...'_

_'... the one that your brother likes. Yes, I know.'_

Yukio blinked, waiting for any words of continuation. It was as if the voice in his head was trying to make a point, but that point eludes him.

It had been a few days since Yukio was hearing that voice in his head. Knowing about it alarmed him at first, but it had such an angelic quality that every time Yukio hears the voice, he would start to calm down and not worry.

The voice couldn't hold back on blurting out, 'But the girl likes you, you know.'

The information did not surprise Yukio one bit. He had a hunch about Shiemi's feelings long ago. The girl had been as clear as a crystal glass that Yukio had no difficulties of finding out her crush on him. Unfortunately, he wasn't interested in her in that way but he kept quiet so as not to hurt the fragile girl.

_'Is that why you're pushing her towards your brother? So that you wouldn't hurt her?'_

Yukio swallowed the last drops of water from his glass. Was it really like that: pushing Shiemi's unwanted feelings away in the guise of helping Rin get the love of his life?

_'No?'_ the voice asked. There was a hint of amusement in it. _'Are you saying that you really just want to help your brother?'_

"I—" Yukio pulled the jar of water from the refrigerator and close the door with his free hand. "I think so."

"Yukio?" Rin suddenly spoke just behind the said boy. He looked around. "Who are you talking to?"

"Er,... myself?" Yukio handed the tray of water jar and glasses to Rin. "Take this. I'll go find some snacks."

Rin smiled awkwardly. "Can you go back with me? I'm kinda nervous around... you know."

"But I'll still get—"

"I'll wait for you," Rin immediately said. "Please?"

Yukio shrugged. So much for pushing Rin to Shiemi: his brother couldn't handle the pressure. "Alright. Just a minute."

Rin sat on the table, putting the tray on his lap while propping his feet on a chair. He watched Yukio at the corner of his eyes, pursing his lips as he fixed his thoughts.

"Is there something you want to talk about, Niisan?" Yukio asked, closing the cabinet door and facing his brother. "Is this still about Shiemi-san?"

"No!" Rin exclaimed, blushing instantly. "It's about..."

"Do you want me to help you get along with her?"

"You'd do that? Wait, that's not what I'm here for!"

"Then what is it?" Yukio asked, holding the plastic package of loaves of bread and some cheese spread. He started walking towards the kitchen door when Rin suddenly grabbed his arm. The tray on Rin's lap crashed on the ground, the bottle of water and glasses breaking into a thousand pieces. Yukio yelped as he stepped back from the shards in surprise, and Rin's grip on his arm slipped off.

The boys looked at the glistening water and broken glass on the floor, like a beautifully sparkling rift separating them from each other. The door of the kitchen suddenly opened, breaking the silence between the brothers.

"Are you alright?" Konekomaru asked worriedly. The Kyoto trio rushed into the kitchen when they heard the crash and the girls followed them immediately.

"We're fine," Yukio said, smiling as he raised the bread and bottled filling he still carried. "The tray just fell. Nothing to worry about."

"Sensei, you're hurt..." Izumo said, approaching the younger boy and kneeling by Yukio's feet carefully. She inspected a small piece of glass that embedded itself on his leg, making it bleed.

Yukio seemed surprised at seeing his wound. "O-Oh yeah..."

"We better fix that," Izumo said. She turned towards the other boys. "You should clean this up while Moriyama and I help Sensei with his wound."

"Yeah, that'll be good," Bon said. He turned to Rin, who was still sitting on the table. "Okumura, where's your broom?"

But Rin was still staring at the broken glasses he caused.

"Rin?" Shiemi called out. "Are you alright?"

The older Okumura still didn't move. Even his tail was still.

"Niisan?"

"Eh,... yeah?" Rin shook his head before facing his younger twin.

"Are you alright?"

Rin nodded, grinning. "Just... surprised, is all."

He jumped off from the bed, avoiding the broken glass.

_'I just wanted to tell you...'_

Bon took the broom from Rin as the younger boy almost got hurt from the shards of glasses too.

_'... I'll stay with you...'_

Yukio and the girls went to the dining area to clean the wound. Unsurprisingly, the young Doctor tended to his own wound while Shiemi and Izumo got tips from him on wrapping bandages.

_'... But I'm afraid that me being beside you might kill you.'_

* * *

Shura was surprisingly still asleep.

"Let her be," Bon said, quite irritated as he sipped some coffee. "I heard that the exorcists in our quarter finished a mission today..."

"Oh really?" Rin turned to his brother. "Where did you have that mission, Yukio?"

But Yukio was also sleeping, his lower right leg wrapped in clean bandage nicely.

"Unfair!" Rin exclaimed childishly. "Why are you sleeping too?"

And then the older twin squished himself beside Yukio, forcing himself to fit into the open space left on the futon. His tail rested itself on Yukio's waist as if in a hug.

"Hey, we still have to study!" Shima said. But the only reply they got was a snore.

Izumo just shrugged. "Kirigakure-sensei got his futon, anyway."

Yukio move a little, shifting unconsciously to give his older brother more space to sleep on. Shiemi smiled as she watched the twins.

"It's really seldom that we see them like this, right?" she remarked sweetly. "Yuki-chan's always busy with work while Rin is busy with his studies. I hope that they'll have more time to be together like this..."

"Yeah," Konekomaru agreed. He looked at his friends. "Us too. This review night must be a good idea. We should have more times like this."

"Now, stop being mushy," Shima said, waving an uninterested hand at Konekomaru. "I'm hitting the hay too."

"Good night!" they called to each other good-naturely, arranging themselves in their respective futons.

Suddenly, a question popped out. "Where's Takara-san?"

* * *

A small brown-haired boy stood at the rooftop, a phone in hand that he held close to his ear. On his other hand was a handmade colorful puppet.

Oddly, he wasn't doing ventroquilism. He was standing in a very respectful manner while speaking in hushed voice.

"End of report," were the last words that escaped his lips before he hit the end-call button.

* * *

**TBC**


	10. A Cry of Help

**Written:**  
**Major Editing:** July 16, 2013 9:48PM  
**Some parts**: December 30, 2012, 5:12PM

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ao no Exorcist.

**A/N:** Believe it or not, some parts of this chapter are the first ones I've written in this story. I just edited a lot because I thought of another freakin' plot revision.

**Warnings:** OC. Emotional. Bad action. And the very original naming sense of the author.

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

It was late afternoon. The tension had finally gone down as the minute-old child was wrapped in sterile cloth and handed gently to his mother. The lady smiled down at the infant secured in her arms.

"Rin..."

She decided to call him that. It was a name that she alone had decided. Her husband was nowhere in sight; she minded the absence, but she never really got angry with her husband. She might have been a little bit worried for the man but she never blamed him. And now that she has her child by her side...

And then the fire started. It was no ordinary fire. It started to burn within her, her skin and finally her whole body. She was engulfed by the blue flames that turned her into ashes just moments after her scream were cut short by death.

_'Don't burn... please,...'_

"Mother!"

Rin suddenly opened his eyes, clutching a hand to his chest. He thought he was burning — no, he wasn't. The woman who held him lovingly in her arms was burning in his blue flames. But he could do nothing about it but cry as she turned into ashes right before his very eyes.

He was sure she was his mother.

Rin blinked. How could that happen? His mother probably died after giving birth to him. He was just few minutes old, but he had seen her face clearly. She was so kind and warm. She was a bit pale, but her dark brown hair and bright blue-green eyes seemed to have made up for her wan skin complexion. When Rin had closed his eyes, he could still see her face vividly like some fresh memory. But it wasn't only because of the dream that he could envision her face clearly; he thought she looked very familiar.

That's right. She looked very much like Yukio.

Rin closed his eyes again, seeing his mother's and Yukio's face alternatingly behind his eyelids. It all came down to that again: if the dream — or nightmare, whatever that was — had been a memory, then just like he had killed his foster father, he had murdered his biological mother.

A sharp poke on his forehead jolted him out of his daydreams.

"Niisan, if you're trying to sleep again, you're going to be late," Yukio said, throwing a bath towel at Rin's face as the older brother opened his eyes.

"Hey!" Rin tried to catch the towel while sitting up, but he toppled back on his bed as the cloth covered his face. He sat up again and pointed an angry finger at the other boy, his tail straightening indignantly. "I'm your older brother, you know! You should remember to respect me!"

Yukio picked up his bag, sparing a backward glance at his older brother. "I'm ready to go. See you at school, Niisan."

"What!? What's the time?" Rin grabbed his alarm clock. "I'm going to be late!"

"I told you so."

"Wait for me, Yukio!"

"No way."

"I said 'wait', younger brother!"

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[A Cry of Help]**

_Chapter Nine_

* * *

Rin opened his eyes.

Crap. He fell asleep. Where was he again?

Oh yes, he was taking the exorcist written exam in a cram school classroom.

"Shit."

The examiner glared at him. It was a female exorcist from the main branch, someone that Rin didn't even bother remembering the name of.

"No talking, please."

Rin glanced at the clock. He had ten minutes left to answer the remaining 50 questions he snored on. He was a little bit proud to say that the first half of the hundred-question exam has answers he was sure of (Yukio, Bon and Izumo reviewed him repeatedly about a hundred times, after all!) before he went to slumber land.

But some of the other 50 felt vaguely familiar. Most of them looked like gibberish to Rin's eyes because he couldn't focus. His earlier dream was still bothering him because it felt very real.

_'Shit,'_ Rin said, this time in his head. He proceeded on trying out his luck by rushing through the next questions. _'I'm dead, I'm dead...'_

The bell finally rang. Was that already ten minutes?

At least, Rin managed to put something on his paper. He left his seat as the stern examiner asked for his paper, which she placed with the rest.

After collecting all the exam papers, she announced rather cheerfully, "Congratulations on finishing the first part of the exorcist examinations! Please wait for further instructions for the second part, which is the practical examination. Good luck!"

"Can't we rest for a bit?" Shima asked.

"You have to ask that from the personnel assigned to you for your practical examination," the woman answered politely as she placed the exam papers in a large brown envelope. "Now, if you would please excuse me..."

She left the cram school room, taking the envelope with her.

"So which places are assigned to you guys?" Rin asked, shrugging his sword onto his shoulder.

"Open field 1," Shiemi, Izumo and... Takara's puppet chorused.

"Open field 2," said the Kyoto trio.

"What the hell?" Rin yelled. "Am I the only one who will go to that empty field behind the old Boy's Dorm?"

The door opened and three exorcists entered the room.

"Pages aiming to have the title of Tamer, please follow me," Neuhaus said, looking at the two ladies and the puppeeter. He walked out of the door again as the three followed.

"Yah Arias," Shura pointed lazily at the Kyoto trio and walked out of the door too. The three boys had no choice but to run after her.

Rin watched them go before turning towards the last person in the room.

Yukio smiled. "Follow me, Niisan."

"What?" Rin asked as they had their turn of leaving the room. "Where are we going?"

"As you said, we're going to that empty lot behind our dorm," Yukio replied. He took a ring of keys from his pocket and opened the door with it. The door opened immediately towards the grassy land behind the old Boy's dormitory.

The twins stepped into the open space as the cool wind blew. Yukio turned around to face his brother with a serious face.

"For the second part of your exorcist examination, the practical part," he explained. "Okumura Rin, you are going to fight me."

Rin froze on the spot. "What are you talking about?" But Yukio just pulled out his guns and checked them. "Don't freakin' ignore me!"

"Calm down. No, I guess you can't," Yukio said as he watched Rin stomp angrily on the ground. "Listen, alright? We're going to—"

"No, you listen!" Rin stepped towards his twin and stared him right in the eyes. "We're not gonna fight! I told you already that family shouldn't fight!"

Yukio took a deep breath. Now he realized that anger is contagious especially with the shouting and impatience. He needed to calm down or there would be two shouting, angry Okumuras in True Cross Academy grounds.

"Niisan, we're going to pretend to fight," Yukio began.

"What d'you mean?"

"You can use your sword and flames."

"Even my flames? Are you crazy? Shouldn't I be trying to control them or somethin'?"

"This 'fight' is different. Keeping your flames in check is the point of your second exam. And I, being your younger twin and another son of Satan, may be the only one who can stand up against your flames. That's why I'm the personnel assigned to you."

Rin pouted. "Can't I just fight the clown instead?"

"Sir Pheles is currently not in school. Now that you metioned it, he's out of school in quite a while already..." The younger boy placed a finger to his chin, deep in thought. "Anyway, just pretend that we're training."

"Training with sword and flames against guns?"

Yukio nodded. Rin grinned.

"Alright!"

* * *

Yukio loaded his guns and checked his spare magazines secured in his belt. He still has his holy water grenades but promised himself that he's never going to use them on his brother.

"Get ready," he said, looking at Rin. The older boy changed to his PE uniform and was swaying his tail from side to side impatiently.

They were still in the vacant lot behind their dormitory. Obscured by trees and the large dormitory itself, Yukio knew Rin can use his flames as he wanted. The dorm was also some distance from the main of the academy, thus the sounds of gunshots and their fighting would barely be heard by others.

Yukio trailed his eyes on his brother. "Start!"

In an instant, Rin unsheathed the Kurikara. Blue flames licked the outline of his body as Rin threw the blue scabbard uncaringly to the ground and run to Yukio with his inhuman speed, sword raised.

But Yukio expected the straight-forward attack. He side-stepped and swept his leg beneath Rin, throwing him off his feet. Straddling over the laying figure of his brother, he pointed his gun right on Rin's chest. A loud shot resonated in the area.

"Dammit, that freakin' hurts!" Rin yelled, clutching his chest. He looked but there was just little blood. "Hey, I thought..."

Yukio smiled. "Nutrient capsules. The same ones I used when we were saving Shiemi-san."

"You mean you never intend to take me on seriously!?"

"Of course not."

Rin sat up. "But you're facing my flames and my sword! I'm a demon, Yukio. Never forget that."

Yukio shoved his brother back to ground at gunpoint, his face serious.

"But if I had my blessed bullets, I already killed you a while ago." He smiled again. "And you're Niisan before you're a demon. That's the one I won't ever forget. Let's try again, shall we?"

He stood up and offered his hand to help his brother do the same. But Rin tackled him, taking his turn to be over his twin. He let his blade fall just millimeters from Yukio's head, the tip sinking into the fine grains of the soil.

"Back at you, li'l bro," Rin said, grinning. Yukio frowned at him from beneath.

"That's unfair, Niisan."

"No, that should count as my win!"

A sigh. Yukio reached up a free hand and pinched Rin's nose so the older yelped and squirmed away from the touch. They stood up.

"Alright..." the exorcist said.

Rin grinned wider, mimicking Yukio's tone. "Let's try again, shall we?"

Yukio just smiled and aimed his gun. Rin ducked, swinging the side of his sword towards Yukio's leg as the bullet barely graze his arm. But the younger twin jumped backwards to remove himself from the hitting area of Rin's blade. With a confident smile, the older Okumura grunted as he directed his blue flames, slightly singeing the hem of Yukio's coat.

"Not bad," Yukio complimented, watching Rin head towards him again. He aimed and shot at Rin's foot but the other boy sliced the bullet. Rin unleashed his flames again towards his brother but he got distracted when he thought he heard a familiar counting voice. At that moment, his flames went out of control. Yukio tried to step out of the way again but his foot was caught on a branch littered on the ground and he stumbled. In a matter of seconds, he was covered in blue flames.

"Yukio!" Rin yelled. He knew he got too carried away. His anger and confidence made him use his flames too much. After all, these blue flames he inherited from his father can kill. And the same flames can easily burn his human younger brother.

_'Murderer...'_ that word echoed against his ears again.

Rin wanted to ran into the fiery cerulean place and join Yukio even though he knew that those flames wouldn't burn him. But he heard a yell. "No, Niisan! Get back!"

A holy water grenade was thrown into the air followed by an echoing gunshot. The blessed liquid showered over the blue flames and extinguished them, revealing a still cool and collected younger Okumura sitting on a bare patch of land.

"Yukio!" Rin called again, worry written all over his face. His sword fell from his lax grip and he tackle-hugged Yukio, almost bawling his eyes out. "I thought you're gone!"

Yukio chuckled. "It's alright, Niisan. The exorcist coat is fire resistant. I'm not even burnt."

Rin looked his brother over with teary eyes, earning another laugh from Yukio. The elder twin pouted and pulled on the cheeks of the other, trying to wipe that smile off.

"Stop it, Niisan..." Yukio squirmed away from his brother's fingers, still smiling. But he was surprised to find that his brother bore that expression of too much sadness.

"I thought I killed you..." Rin said, so serious that Yukio almost believed that his older brother had killed him.

"Dream on, Niisan," Yukio said as he realized that his silence stretched too much. "You can't kill me—"

"N-NO!" Rin pushed Yukio away. A wave of blue flames erupted from him, missing Yukio by a few centimeters. "I can't believe I-I—!"

_'Yukio, get back,'_ said that beautiful voice in the head of the younger Okumura. Of course, the young teacher didn't move as he watched his brother writhe in pain right in front of him. He was about to lunge forward to help his older twin but another entity took over his movements and forced him to move back.

Rin knelt to the ground. He was afraid; earlier, he thought that his only family left in the living world was burning with his own blue flames. Just like his foster father and biological mother did.

But he had been 'too' afraid. He was suicidal. He lost the will to live. Finally, some other demon grabbed the chance to take over his body. Blue flames grew stronger as if someone had thrown oil into the fire, making him feel like his skin was sizzling.

A loud laugh sounding odd against his ears erupted from his burning throat.

"I'm here again!" Rin's body stood up on its own, even as Rin himself thought that it should be burning down and bleeding from too much heat. "Welcome Satan-sama, you bastards!"

Yukio shielded his eyes with his arms. He felt as though the blue fire would melt his eyes even from just staring. But he kept his eyes wide open to watch his brother being taken over by the emperor of demons.

"N-Niisan!" he called weakly. He wanted to move forward but his body won't listen to him.

_'Take this chance to run away,'_ the voice in his head advised. Even with the emperor of demons right in front of them, the voice managed to sound calm and soothing. _'He won't be as caring as your older brother had been. If I had just killed Okumura Rin immediate—'_

"No!" Yukio yelled to the voice in his head. Wind seemed to lash on his skin as Rin's body turned towards his voice. "Don't you dare hurt my brother!"

"Yukio," Rin called out. But it was merely using Rin's voice, for Yukio instantly knew that it wasn't his brother that was calling him. Yet for some reason, there was a hint of a familiar feeling in that voice. "Okumura Yukio, am I right? You've grown..."

Yukio stared at Rin's eyes in confusion with a bit of jealousy and anger.

"You're my father, right?" he asked. "Why won't you know my name?"

Satan laughed. "I'm not your daddy, kiddo. Do you think I wouldn't know which dam' brats are mine?"

"But Niisan is—!"

Another laugh ensued, like Yukio had just told Satan a joke. "Do you really think..." Satan asked, his tone mocking. "... that this brat of mine is your older brother?"

"Yes," Yukio said without hesitation. "Why won't Niisan be—?"

"You're not my child!" Rin — or rather, Satan — bellowed. In a flash, Rin's body was right in front of Yukio again and was holding the younger boy by the neck. "Why would you think that I'm your father when you don't even have my flames? Because it rejected you due to your dam' weak body? Don't make me laugh!"

Flames burst as Satan tightened his hold on Yukio's neck. The younger can only choke for air.

"My flames never reject! It f'cking kills whoever is not worthy enough to wield it!"

Satan watched in amusement as Yukio's hands raised to pry the death grip around his neck. Those hands were calloused and firm, unlike those hands that held him before: calloused too, but smaller and softer.

Suddenly, the hands that touched him felt like burning. Satan yelled as he yanked his hand back, finally releasing the younger boy from his grip. Yukio dropped on the ground on his hands and knees, coughing as air seemed to assault his lungs. There were blue flames around his body too, but softer and more gentle compared to that from the emperor of Gehenna.

Yukio stood up. His eyes were lightning blue, which weren't his own. Satan recognized them and cursed.

"Klaud... Klaud Nine," the demon snarled. "What is a f'cking angel like you doing in the body of that child?"

"As you should already know," Klaud, the owner of the eyes and the voice that Yukio kept hearing in his head, replied. He stretched out Yukio's hand and a silvery blue sword of flames materialized. "This child is also my host."

Satan held out Rin's hand too, making his own sword of blue flames. He raised the sword up, striking at Klaud who immediately parried the attack.

"Why do you always get in my f'cking way?!" Satan asked, delivering blow after blow at Yukio's yielding body. Klaud could feel that Yukio's body was weakening from the attacks and his possession.

_'Leave him alone!'_ a voice yelled at Satan. Rin's body hesitated as the owner tried to take possession again.

Klaud took the second of hesitation as his chance to attack.

"You can't f'ckin' kill me!" Satan yelled, regaining possession of Rin's body. He readied his sword for a thrust, just as Klaud had done.

_'Don't you dare hurt my brother!'_

Those words replayed in Yukio's mind. Klaud merely remembered them spoken to him by the child he possessed in order to set foot in Gehenna. That child remained sleeping as Klaud took possession of his body. And that child would die as the flame sword held by his brother sank on his chest just as Klaud managed to move his aim away from the older brother's chest.

"Yu—" Satan started saying as he realised that Klaud's sword didn't reach him. His own sword of flames pierced Yukio's body instead. Without resistance at all, the sword drew blood that splashed on Rin's face and began flowing down uncontrollably.

The blood woke Rin up.

"Y-Yu—" Rin stuttered, gripping on the sword lodged on the chest of his younger brother. Yukio's eyes remained open, but they were glassy and unseeing.

A door opening and the sound of footsteps on the grass broke into the scene.

"Rin, Yuki-chan," Shiemi said, turning towards the brothers. "I, Kamiki-san and Takara-san passed the—"

And then she stopped as she finally saw the scene. Rin was gripping a sword of flames that struck Yukio's chest. Both boys were covered in the younger's blood. The sword burned on slightly before sizzling into nothing.

"S-Shiemi... Y-Yukio..." Rin said as he caught Yukio's body before it hit the ground. "H-he...lp."

But the girl wasn't listening. She wasn't even looking at him. She was staring at Yukio's bloodied body.

"Why..." Shiemi's tears fell down without her knowing. "Why did you k-kill him?"

Rin didn't answer. He barely whispered, "Help Yu—"

"Why did you kill Yuki-chan, Rin?!" Shiemi yelled. She ran towards the door from which she came from, like running away from the scene would make it unreal.

Rin watched her go, clutching on a body that was getting colder fast.

"Help Yukio..." Rin cried. "HELP MY YOUNGER BROTHER, DAMMIT!"

* * *

**TBC**


	11. An Infant

**Written:** May 4, 2013 11:02PM  
**Edit:** July 23, 2013 6.44PM

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ao no Exorcist.

* * *

Just Some Memories Of... **[An Infant]**

_Chapter Ten_

* * *

— Setting: Present Time —

The blood had scattered everywhere. He could not stop the flow of the crimson liquid. And no matter how much he wished, everything just wasn't a nightmare.

"No... NO!"

He heard himself speak. The body on his arms felt heavy and was losing warmth fast.

And then a cough.

"N-Niisan..."

The world seemed to stop. Rin felt his heart skip as he heard that voice. He looked at the face of the boy he was holding.

"Yukio! Get a grip! I'll take you to the hospital and—"

But he felt Yukio shake his head slowly. "Y-You don't have to..." A fit of coughing stopped him from speaking.

The older boy held his twin tighter. "Don't talk. Niisan will—"

Yukio reached for the hand that supported him. "I guess that y-you weren't just fooling a-around that time..." he said. "When you said t-that you will... a-and..."

Blood continued to pour from the wound on his chest. Rin watched the blood mix with the rain, feeling that Yukio's warmth was slipping away fast. If he didn't hurry, Yukio will truly—

"...but even if y-you ask it from me, I just can't do t-that..."

"What..." Rin said. "What are you talking about?"

Yukio laughed slightly, like what Rin asked was some kind of joke. He began to reach up to touch Rin's face. "I'm sorry..."

"What are you saying sorry for?" Rin asked. The raindrops fell on his cheeks like teardrops. But they were too warm to be just raindrops. "I-I don't understand, Yukio!"

"I'm sorry,... so please, d-don't..."

The tip of Yukio's finger touched Rin's face before falling down lifelessly. Rin grabbed that hand before it hit the ground, feeling as though he was losing everything for the second time around.

Screaming. Crying. He was alone there in that empty lot behind their dormitory. The sky decided to cry with him as the heavens poured down. But the flames of the recent battle weren't quenched at all as they continued to burn around him. He felt them burn the rain and the damp soil, but he didn't care. He felt too cold as he continue to cry and to hold onto that lifeless body on his arms.

"...Drei, Zwei, Eins, Null." A sound of snapping fingers. Mephisto Pheles appeared out of nowhere with a serious facade instead of the usual smiling one. He twirled his umbrella before folding it close, sighing. He looked at Rin, who was still cradled the head of his younger brother.

"I've successfully replaced your demon heart from the Kurikara to your body," the clownish-clad demon said without a trace of amusement. "Next is..."

Another click of fingers. Insane giggles filled the grounds as that familiar blue-and-brown sea of unmentionables appeared just behind Rin.

"...the preparation of your rebirth in Gehenna," Mephisto said. He watched as the Gehenna gate slowly spread. Rin felt like he was being pulled into the pool surrounded by glinting metal and eyes by some invisible force. He held on Yukio, whimpering.

"Lastly, dispose of Okumura Rin's human brother." Mephisto shrugged. "Via the blue flames. Which seems to have already been taken care of."

"Don't you dare hurt Yukio!" Rin yelled. "My brother, my baby brother... Help him, Mephisto...!"

"But I should follow the orders of my direct superiors." He picked up the Kurikara which lay just by the edge of the Gehenna gate. The sword wasn't enveloped by blue flames anymore. After all, Rin was already a full-fledged demon the moment Mephisto Pheles replaced his demon heart from the holy sword.

Mephisto brought up the Kurikara for closer inspection.

"This is one powerful sword and can sever a demon's regenerative abilities. A blade that is created to defeat demons," he muttered under his breath, looking at it with disgust. He picked up the scabbard and sheathed the sword, throwing it towards Rin. It clattered beside the uncaring demon. "You can still have it. It's a sword nonetheless."

"Yukio... help him, Mephisto!" Rin yelled. "He's dying—"

"He's dead," Mephisto said simply. "Your hands killed him."

"NO!" Rin screamed. He picked up his sword. "If my only family's dead, then I'll die with him!"

He was about to pull the sword out but the Gehenna gate tugged on him. He slid away from Yukio as the demonic world pulled him into it.

"There are some rules between the worlds," Mephisto started saying as he watched flames spread despite the rain. It reached the tip of Yukio's boots and lit it up. "One of them is this. Humans belong in Assiah; demons belong in Gehenna. But unless called through a specific ritual or having a host, humans and demons shouldn't cross the boundaries between the mirror worlds."

The blue flames continued to spread. It crawled all over Yukio's cold body, but not burning the exorcist coat. Rin clawed the ground but the Gehenna gate wouldn't loosen its hold on him. He couldn't reach the body of his brother and all he had was his sword.

"Now that you are a full-fledged demon, with your heart, tail and flames with you," Mephisto continued. "You are bound to stay in our world."

"Dammit, let go of me!" Rin cried. "I have to save my brother!"

But the flames had spread enough to cover Yukio's body. It burned continuously, unyielding under the rain.

"Please..." Rin managed as he felt the blue-and-brown stuff wrapping around him as he sank into the Gehenna gate. It was cold, like falling into a pool of ice.

Suddenly, a small bang exploded by Yukio's body. As the aftershocks died down, the explosion took with it all the flames that burned the late exorcist.

Rin stared in shock as he could only see the exorcist coat left behind.

"Happy birthday, my otoutou Okumura Rin."

The young demon was pulled once more and he sank completely into the portal, his will past from all the care in the world. The Gehenna gate gave one last insane giggle before closing, sealing the mirror worlds from each other.

Mephisto sighed, twirling his umbrella. A puff of pink smoke brought a gigantic elaborately-designed teapot that poured holy water upon the blue flames around him (and carefully not on him). As the flames were extinguished, the demon unconsciously turned his forest green eyes towards the place where he last saw the young professor, as if in his impossible mind, the younger Okumura was still there and miraculously alive.

A small smile. "Of course not. It won't happen... again."

He was about to leave when a small movement caught his eyes. He stared, searching the dying blue flames. The exorcist coat lay there, burnt and tattered but not ashes.

And oddly jolted.

Mephisto held up a hand, stopping the teapot from pouring out the holy water as he walked carefully towards the discarded coat. Still staring, he waited.

Another movement. He wasn't imagining things. Using the tip of his umbrella to catch the hem of the soaked coat, he flung it aside to confirm his suspicions.

A small infant lay there, almost covered by a wet white dress shirt. It was pale and shivering from the cold. A pair of glasses lay beside it, cracked and with its frame surprisingly well intact.

A laughed issued from the demon.

"Amusing!" he said, unable to stop himself from the outburst. He made a clean white tablecloth materialize and covered the infant with it, careful not to make contact with the holy water himself.

"I wonder how things will turn out," he said, watching the beautiful blue-green eyes open at the moment. "This is sure worth my time..."

* * *

**TBC**


End file.
